Thirsty for Your Love
by Bertie Bott
Summary: AU New Moon. Bella's lost herself to despair after being abandoned by Edward and finds herself on the cusp of giving up. Meanwhile, Damon's been drifting aimlessly since opening the tomb and discovering Katherine's betrayal. One day Laurent corners Bella in the meadow, but it's not Jake who appears to the rescue...
1. Misery Loves Comapny

(A/N): Please forgive this long author's note, but some clarification is necessary...

First, I'd like to thank Kittyinaz – after reading her Bella/Damon ("You're All I'm Asking For"), I simply could not resist writing my own. I highly recommend her stories – any of them, they're all good! – they can be found here on fanfiction, but her unrated versions can be found on her word press, linked on her profile, as well as mine :-)

For Twilight, this takes place after Jacob starts avoiding Bella and she's found by Laurent in the meadow – I've messed with the timeline a bit and instead of this happening in late winter/early spring, I'm setting it in early December. And as for Vampire Diaries, this occurs shortly after Damon opens the tomb and learns of Katherine's betrayal. It is A/U, obviously, and instead of just drowning himself in sorority girls at home, Damon also goes on a little road trip of sin and stumbles upon Bella...

The title comes from Poets of the Fall and their song "Carnival of Rust." Awesome band, and again, thanks to Kittyinaz for turning me onto them!

And on we go...

* * *

"_It's all a game, avoiding failure, when true colors will bleed  
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don't need  
I lust for after no disaster can touch, touch us anymore  
And more than ever, I hope to never fall, where enough is not the same it was before"_

**Poets of the Fall, "Carnival of Rust"**

* * *

_**Thirsty for Your Love**_

She could smell the dead leaves in the air. What had once been a meadow, beautiful and breathtaking when in bloom, was now in the wintertime a deadened clearing that reeked of neglect. There were no flowers smiling at her, no sunlight pulling out the green, blue, and purple hues of the blooms. Everything was gray and brown. Dull and lifeless – just like her. It looked like the vibrant life had been drained away and a haunted feeling settled firmly over her as she saw reflected in nature what she saw in herself.

Bella shivered, moving further into the clearing.

It'd taken much patience and effort to find this place. Jake had helped her out at first, but wasn't returning her calls lately. She imagined he'd gotten bored with her too, and she couldn't really blame him. A part of her felt relieved that he'd pulled away. It was exhausting trying to pretend to be alright when all Bella felt was empty. Soulless.

Dropping to her knees, Bella felt the small pricks from the dead grass even through her jeans. A cool breeze started and even though her body reacted instinctively by shivering, Bella felt numb to the coldness. It was like a fan trying to cool off a chunk of ice – futile.

How had it come to this, she wondered. She was eighteen years old but existentially felt like she'd lived eighteen lifetimes. Perhaps that was childish of her. Maybe she was overreacting in her heartbreak. First love, her mom had told her, was always the hardest to lose.

But it wasn't merely _lost_ to her – it'd been taken. Cruelly, heartlessly, Edward had torn his love away, ripped it from her, leaving a bleeding gaping hole in her chest. Not only that, but he'd taken his family too. It was like they'd gotten a divorce and he'd received sole custody of them, and she had no visitation rights to the people who called her a sister and daughter, respectively.

And lord did it sting knowing she was so easy to cast aside by them all. He'd been the epitome of indifferent as he broke her. Not once in their time together had Bella ever thought him to be the monster he professed to be, not until that day.

_It will be as if I'd never existed_...

"You lied," she spoke quietly, lost in the memory. "All you ever did was lie."

That was melodramatic, but very true. He'd promise he'd never leave her, told her that he loved her, that she meant more to him than his own existence. And when he got bored, he'd told her she'd forget about him. He'd promised that it would be as if he'd never existed yet she saw him everywhere, was haunted by his words and memory.

She'd swallowed each lie from him, starved for his attention, desperate for his affection.

The hole in her chest fluttered and Bella wrapped her arms around herself in a foolish attempt to hold it together as it cracked under the weight of her grief.

But underneath the sorrow, the beginnings of anger and resentment began to stir. A quiet voice started whispering in the back of her mind – was a man who could abandon her in such a scarring way worthy of her love and devotion? Were the people who called her friend, called her a sister and a daughter, truly her family if they could abandon her without even a goodbye? What kind of family was capable of doing that to one they called their own?

Tears were streaming down her face and the fledgling anger really started to kindle, but before the flames could ignite she heard a twig snapping sharply behind her.

Turning, she inhaled as she saw Laurent walking out between the trees some thirty paces away.

"Laurent," she breathed, using a hand to wipe away the tear tracks from her face – the only evidence of her anger and sadness.

"Bella?" he sounded surprised, but happy. Almost gleeful.

He took a step towards her, and Bella hastily scrambled to her feet to face him. A prudent wariness filled her when he smiled at her, exposing his teeth.

"What are you doing out here on your own, Bella? Are you lost?" he asked, clearly amused.

"No, I'm waiting for someone. They'll be here soon." She wasn't sure why she lied, but everything in her screamed to. Perhaps her self-preservation was finally kicking in, for here she was again, alone in the woods with a vampire. Only this time, the vampire had red eyes that were gleaming at her wickedly.

It was obvious he didn't believe her.

"I admit, I'm surprised to find you here," he grinned.

She took a small step back when he advanced, knowing there was no way she could possibly outrun him. "Why? I live here."

Laurent laughed. "But when I went by the Cullen home and found their scent had faded, I assumed they'd taken you with them. Weren't you sort of a pet of theirs?"

The hole in her chest grew and she fought the urge to grab at her heart as it started racing. His head cocked to the side, poised as he listened, and he smiled again.

"Sort of," she said lowly.

His smile widened. "How fortunate that they tired of you."

Every muscle in her body tightened, but she knew not to run. Not only was escape a pointless endeavor, but it'd likely set off the predator in him like it had done to James.

"And how is that fortunate?" she asked.

He took another step, smirking when she couldn't stop herself from retreating back. "Well, it's fortunate for you, my dear. Fortunate that I found you, and not Victoria."

The redheaded vampire's face flashed in her mind. "V-Victoria? What does she want with me?"

But it felt like a fist was squeezing her heart as she remembered that Victoria had been James's mate.

"Oh, I think you know what she wants, my Bella. She's quite... angry with you and your vampire."

She tensed. "He's not _my_ vampire," she snapped.

"No?" he tsk'd in mock sympathy. "Well, it is of no matter. Edward killed her mate. She wants to kill his."

"I'm _not_ his mate," she insisted. "He left. They all did. I was their _pet_, nothing more."

And even though she became acutely aware of the fact that she was about to die, she couldn't shake the sorrow and pain from the truth of her words.

"I'm afraid she's not in the right mindset to listen to reason, you understand. You really should be thankful that I found you – she wants to make you suffer, Bella. Whereas I will be generous. I will make it quick."

Suddenly, he blurred and was five paces in front of her. She cried out, fear choking her.

"Sh-h, don't be upset, mon petite fleur. This is easier, no? Easier than being left behind, abandoned by the one who was supposed to care for you. It is not your fault, mon amor. And it is not mine. It is simply in my nature, you see? I'm so _thirsty_..." he hissed the last word.

He stretched out a hand in exaggerated slowness, and instead of moving away as she had been, for one brief second Bella leaned forward. There was an undeniable truth to his words – it wasn't either of their faults. She was a human who smelled tasty and he was a vampire. Really, just bad timing. And if what he said was true, if Victoria was really after her, then dying at Laurent's hands was sure to be a mercy.

Truth of it all, she was tired. Tired of her mom's incessant babbling as she talked only about herself, simply telling Bella cliché sayings about _it's better to have loved than lost_ before drawing the conversation back to her and her husband. Not once did she genuinely try to help Bella with her heartache, never acknowledging the extent of her daughter's hurt.

Bella was tired of Charlie threatening to send her away, saying the same rote over and over again about how no boy was worth what she was putting herself through. And he was right to an extent, but instead of working with her, his solution was to send her away. Leave her like Edward had. It was exhausting listening to her so-called friends talk behind her back in school. And she was weary from waiting on Jake to return her calls even though in her heart she knew he'd written her off for good, just like everyone else.

She was tired of being alone. Of being second fiddle to everyone and everything. Of never being good enough.

Death would be easy – cold and absolute. No more pain. No more tears. Just blessed darkness.

Laurent's hand gently tilted her face up. The cold touch reminded her of Edward's and she found that strangely fitting, like he was the one delivering this fatal blow.

"There's a good girl," he murmured. "Close your eyes and it will be like falling asleep."

A sad hopefulness filled her, a peace that slowed her racing heart and unclenched her muscles. She closed her eyes.

She could sense him leaning forward, feel the cold puff of his breath against her neck... until it was abruptly gone and she was startled by a voice coming directly beside her.

"Not so fast there, Sparkles."

Bella's eyes flew open and took in the man standing uncomfortably close to her right. He was tall and looked to be in his early twenties. His body was lithe but there was an undeniable strength radiating behind his casual pose. Black hair was windswept and untamed and his clothes were as dark and imposing as the expression he wore.

But it was his eyes that truly captivated her. They were arctic blue glaciers, startling in their coldness and incredibly vivid against his dark bangs. Dressing head-to-toe in black made his eyes were all the more shocking and Bella was reminded of a favorite singer of Charlie's, Johnny Cash. _The Man in Black._

A strange sense of awareness filled her, like static electricity humming in the air, vibrating along her arm where his body nearly grazed hers. Foreboding warred with anticipation and Bella felt alive and alert in a way she'd never experienced before.

But still, despite the wicked glint in his beautiful eyes, the unique shade of blue told her he was human and now in danger because of his interference on her behalf. She wondered idly how he got there, how long he'd been in the clearing and why Laurent hadn't noticed him before, but in the end it didn't matter. He was in danger because of her.

"You should run," she warned firmly.

His eyes flicked from Laurent to focus on her. A dark brow arched as he studied her and after a moment, the smirk appeared and he turned back to Laurent who suddenly looked wary.

"I never run from a fight, cupcake," he sounded amused, but there was a strong threat under the words clearly directed at Laurent.

"Seriously," she persisted. "You could get hurt."

He snorted. "He could try," he smirked again.

"This doesn't involve you, friend," Laurent spoke. He sounded cautious and placating, confusing Bella even more.

"Oh I'm not your friend," the man smiled brightly. Bella decided it made him look even more threatening than when he smirked.

"There's no need to fight," Laurent cautioned. "I'm doing her a favor, truly. If it's not me, it will be someone else. She's marked."

"Now _that_ sounds like a challenge," the man grinned. He looked excited, eager even.

"Please," Bella tried again. "You'll get hurt. I'm not worth it." She didn't want this man's death on her conscience. The guilt would kill her quicker than Laurent could.

He glanced at her again, and instead of the cold aloofness there was a new emotion in his beautiful eyes. Concern or curiosity maybe? Whatever it was, it was gone before Bella could analyze it and he was looking back at Laurent again, a new hardness in his steely glare.

"Don't worry about me, gorgeous," he said lightly. "You should be more concerned for your friend here. Laurent, is it?"

Bella blushed at the pet name. _Really...? So not the time_, she told herself.

"It doesn't have to come to a fight," Laurent said. "Just give me the girl."

The stranger's smile widened. "No," he said succinctly.

"We can share her," Laurent offered. But it was as if he knew the answer to that because no sooner had he spoken was he widening his stance, bracing himself. He looked like a jungle cat ready to spring.

The man shifted beside her in response, his body coming between her and Laurent. The static electricity in the air seemed to increase tenfold and the tiny hairs on her arms stood at attention.

"I'm not the sharing type," the stranger grinned again though his voice was decidedly darker, almost growly. Was it just her or did his teeth look slightly longer than before? "Leave now, while you still can."

Laurent sighed. "It appears you cannot be reasoned with."

Next thing Bella knew they were both moving at impossible speeds. There was a mess of growling and snarling, but she couldn't make out who it was coming from. Her human eyes were simply incapable of following them.

As abruptly as they started, they stopped. She took in the scene before her and found that Laurent was now missing an arm and the strange man was holding it, his mouth opened in a silent snarl.

And the man's _face_! His eyes were red and black veins seemed to pulse under them – and she could see _fangs _as he growled ever so slightly. As horrifying as the sight was, she was strangely comforted to see Laurent gasping in pain, clearly worse for wear, and that this strange, otherworldly man in black was obviously winning.

"That looks painful," the man laughed, lifting the arm in his grasp to wave mockingly.

Horrified laughter bubbled within Bella and she slapped a hand to her mouth as it trickled out. The strange man looked at her sharply before smirking again as he tossed her a wink. Clearly she was going into shock if she could laugh at such a dark sight.

Before Laurent could reply, the man blurred into motion again, speeding towards him. There was a terrible wrenching sound and when he stopped, he had Laurent's other arm. He dropped both to the ground, moving again and again until all that remained of Laurent was a mess of limbs tossed haphazardly on top of each other.

It was a terrifying sight, but the man was clearly at ease as he tossed Laurent's head into the pile and reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver zippo lighter. He snapped it open while sparking it to life, his hand hovering over the pile as he pinned her with a look drenched in dark humor. Gone were the red eyes and black veins, and Bella stared wide-eyed into his baby-blues.

"Do you want to do the honors, baby, or shall I?" he lifted a brow in question.

Bella blinked. "Um, n-no," she stuttered. "By all means, you go on ahead."

He smirked, his wrist flicking as he dropped the lighter into the pile. It ignited immediately and a light purple smoke billowed. The smell of Laurent's burning corpse was sickeningly sweet, cloying and tickling her nose.

She sneezed.

"Salute," he said.

"Um, thanks."

There was a rush of wind and then he was in front of her, his chest nearly pressing into hers. Tilting her head back, she looked into his icy eyes but couldn't bring herself to be afraid. Strange creature or not, the man had saved her life. And even if he did decide to kill her now, the idea of death still didn't seem so frightening. Perhaps he'd make it quick and she'd have respite at last.

"Now what to do about you," he murmured to himself, staring into her eyes intently before ducking down into her face, his hand gripping her chin as she flinched away. His hold was tight, but not hurtful, and his fingers weren't as cold as Laurent's even though they were slightly chill against her skin. With his eyes boring into hers she noticed a slight widening of his pupils as he spoke in a firm, hypnotizing voice, "You never came here. You hiked in the woods, but got lost. You managed to find the trail back and you will go home not remembering me, or the vampire Laurent," he said.

He paused, and almost looked uncertain before he added in an even firmer voice, "You'll get over this Edward douche. You'll decide you're better off without him and move on. Do you understand?"

Bella nibbled her lower lip nervously. "Um, no, no I don't." There was not a thing she understood about what had just happened. Laurent was a vampire and this man had laughed as he tore him apart like he was watching the newest rom-com in theaters. Who was this guy – _what_ was he?

The man reared back and for half a second Bella thought for sure he was going to strike her. He looked angry. No, he was beyond angry. He was positively furious, his fangs starting to descend as red started to bleed into his eyes once more.

"Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment," she quickly reassured, taking a small step back. He mirrored the movement and she continued to babble while retreating, "I wish it really did happen like that, but, well, it didn't. And I won't say anything – I'm good with secrets – so I'll go home and pretend all that happened. I swear. I guess that's what you meant, right? Never mind, I'll just leave now. And um – thanks for saving my life."

Bella turned to escape but made it no more than two steps before she crashed into the guy's chest. His hands went to her hips when she started to fall back, and she could feel his fingers clutching her tightly, his pinkies touching her, well, her ass.

She blushed again.

"What a clever little girl you are," he murmured. "Vervain?"

"Ver – what? No, I don't wear any perfume."

His head cocked to the side.

Nervousness made her heart race and even though she knew it would be futile, Bella tried to step out of his arms and make her way back to her truck.

"Now, now – where's your hurry? I just saved your life. Seems like you owe me."

Bella struggled and the man's hands went to her wrists, holding her against his chest. Suddenly he frowned, allowing her to pull back some as he brought her left wrist close to his face, staring intently. He studied the half-moon scar from when James, and then Edward, had bit her. Releasing her other wrist, he brought a hand over and traced the mark with a lone finger, feeling the hard coldness of it compared to the skin next to it on her wrist.

She shivered.

"How did you get this scar?" he asked quietly. "This scar is impossible."

"I – I don't know what you mean. There was an accident and I fell through a window."

He smirked – a favorite expression of his she could already tell. "Speak the truth now."

"I – I am."

Chuckling lightly, he said, "Has anyone ever told you what a horrible liar you are? We'll need to work on that." The last part was said as an afterthought, like a mental note to himself.

"What?" Really, she must sound like a complete idiot to this guy, but she simply couldn't get her mind to wrap around this bizarre situation.

"You don't really believe that I'm going to allow you, a little human girl, to go running around knowing my secret, do you?"

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked, disturbingly not as concerned as she should be with the threat.

"Don't be an idiot. I didn't just waste my time saving your fine ass just to kill you – although I will if I need to."

She didn't doubt him.

"No, I'm going to keep you around for a while, babycakes. You're... entertaining."

Bitterness welled within her. "So you want to turn me into your _pet_," she spat the last word. Laurent's words still burned in her mind, and Bella would rather die than be somebody's pet _ever_ again. It may have taken a while to appear, but she had too much self-respect to allow that to happen.

"No," he said, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He pulled her closer and stared into her eyes for a long moment so she could read the truth in his gaze. The seriousness left his expression and he smirked once again, saying humorously, "I'm going to turn you into my minion. You'll be my very own personal assistant."

"Are you so desperate for company that you have to resort to me?" she asked. She carried no illusions – Bella knew she was plain and boring. Why this stunning man seemed fixated on her – other than she knew his otherworldly secret – stumped her.

"Hm-m."

That's all he had to say? Really? Bella rubbed her temples. Give her vampires any day and she'd deal with it, but this guy...

"Come along little girl, time to go." He started tugging her through the forest.

"Um, I parked the other way," she said, stumbling as she kept up with his long strides.

"I know."

"Where are you taking me?" she asked.

"I told you, you're coming with me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No," she said more firmly, trying to pull her hand away from him.

"Yes," he said lightly, steadying her when she almost tripped.

"But my dad – I can't just disappear. You can't do this. This is kidnapping!"

"It is," he agreed entirely unconcerned. "Don't worry about your dad. I'll take care of it."

She gasped. "Are you going to kill him? You can't! Please!"

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt him," he said blithely. They'd reached the road and she glanced to the classic Camaro convertible admiringly before trying to break free from his hold again.

"Stop fighting, cupcake. You'll just hurt yourself." He casually picked her up and dumped her into the car, before blurring slightly and appearing in the driver seat next to her. Before she could say anything, the car was started and he was driving towards town.

"Where do you live?"

She crossed her arms and remained silent.

"Don't pout now. We can do this the easy way or the hard – either way, I'll find out, princess."

"You can't do this," she hissed, fear warring with desperation making her heart rate race.

"Relax – it'll be fun."

"I'm being kidnapped by some – some _creature_! I don't even know what you are, let alone your name!"

"You really don't know?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"I don't know anything anymore! Please, just let me go!"

Sighing, he pulled over. They were still a ways away from town and the street was deserted. With the car still running, he placed his arm along the back of the seat and turned to her, studying her for a long moment with his eyes lingering on the tears slowly spilling over her cheeks. "Your Cold Ones didn't do you any favors, did they, precious?"

Bella sniffed. "What's with all the nicknames?"

He grinned. "I'm trying to find one I like."

She rolled her eyes. "Well you sound like Gollum when you use that one," she told him. "And are you going to tell me your name, or even what you are? Why you've decided to kidnap me?" As the questions burst out of her she started feeling more and more hysterical.

"My name is Damon Salvatore, and I imagine you already know what I am. You just haven't really thought about it."

Damon. Wasn't that the name of the kid in _The Omen_, the devil child? _How fitting_. And Salvatore... saint. What an odd contradiction.

"My brain feels like scrambled eggs," she finally sighed. "I can't take much more."

He laughed. "Oh pretty girl, we have much more to go through. Best suck it up now and put on your big girl panties."

"What are you – seriously?"

His head cocked to the side as he went through some sort of internal discussion before he abruptly said, "Vampire."

"No you're not," Bella said.

He grinned. "Yes I am."

"You're not a vampire. I know vampires, you're nothing like them."

"I'm a different breed – superior in every way, naturally."

Her heart started racing again and after this afternoon she wouldn't be surprised if it simply burst out of her chest and ran away. The Cullens had never really been forthcoming about the supernatural world. They only gave her information in little spurts, kept her on a need-to-know basis that had been deadly considering her danger magnet tendencies. She supposed it was possible he was telling the truth. And, her heart twitched painfully as she acknowledged this fact, it was even more possible that Edward had kept her in the dark once again. He'd lied to her many times, after all, and a lie of omission was still a lie.

She remembered Damon's fangs, the red bleeding into his eyes and the black veins. He'd moved faster than her human eyes could follow, used superhuman strength to tear apart and kill Laurent. Up until that day she would've thought that the only way to kill a vampire was with another vampire, and perhaps she was still right. The more she thought on it, she was forced to concede he was telling the truth. She supposed if she believed in the one kind of vampire it was possible for there to be another type – not to mention any other mythical creatures she'd read about.

Both relieved and weary from the burden of her acceptance, Bella let out on a sigh, "Figures."

Damon laughed. "That's the spirit, beautiful. Now tell me where you live and I'll compel your father into thinking you're traveling the world to 'find yourself' or whatever and you'll come with me. No bloodshed, scout's honor."

"Compel?"

"Yes, mind control fuckery. I can make people do whatever I want. Doesn't work on you though, and you aren't using vervain that I can tell. You are just _fascinating_ for a human."

A lightbulb went off in her head. "That's what you were trying to do in the meadow." She remembered how his eyes had dilated and his voice had taken on a quiet, commanding tone. Then, she recalled how he'd softened a bit as he commanded her to move on from Edward... "You told me to move on," she said quietly. "To forget about Edward. Why?"

He shifted awkwardly and suddenly refused to meet her eyes as he said softly, "You remind me of someone I know." But just as quickly as the vulnerability appeared it was gone as he smirked, "I suppose I was building good karma – I'm not what you call a _nice_ guy."

"Then why are you doing this? You heard what Laurent said – I'm marked. It's only a matter of time before Victoria finds and kills me. She'll kill you too if you get in the way."

He snorted and when he replied he sounded deeply offended. "You think I can't handle some mentally deranged mate looking for revenge? Really, that hurts. Did you not see how awesome I was at killing Laurent?"

Feeling frustrated, Bella snapped, "But why would you? Yes, you can probably handle Victoria easily from what I just saw, but why would you make it your problem?"

"It's like I said," he answered blithely. "You remind me of someone I know and I'm bored. Eternity can be boring if I don't make my own entertainment."

Bella stared at him and he met her gaze head-on. She supposed it was pointless trying to intimidate a vampire, but she knew there was more to it than he was letting on. Was he bored? Possibly. But her reminding her of somebody...

And it hit her like lightning.

He must've been in the clearing, or very close to it, well before she'd arrived. He likely saw her kneeling, figuratively broken and bleeding as she mourned for Edward even as the first stirrings of betrayal formed. She knew he'd overheard the entire conversation with Laurent, and Damon didn't seem the type of man to step in and save someone out of the goodness of his heart. He struck her as someone that was completely self-motivated, which meant that if he was truthful about her reminding him of someone to point where he would act on her behalf, then that someone... was him.

Bella stared into his cold eyes. They really were a beautiful and unique shade of blue – far better looking than gold, she conceded. Behind the hardness, lingering underneath the smirks and quips, she finally saw it. The hurt, anger, and betrayal bubbling under the surface... She supposed to others it would be undetectable and his mask would be effective in hiding the pain, pushing others away.

But to someone like Bella who was living with the same pain, there was no hiding. He saw a reflection of himself in her, that's why he saved her – why he wanted to continue saving her. And as they continued their staring contest, Bella began to see a shadow of herself in him too. She wanted to have the walls built as effectively as he did, wanted to mask her pain and hide it from others. Maybe if she pretended well enough, the pain really would disappear and she could be free – not in death, but in life.

Knowing better than to ask him to confirm her revelations, Bella said instead, "If I leave, Charlie would be safe from Victoria because she'll follow me."

It was impossible to tell whether he knew of her epiphany or not, but there seemed to be a shuttering in his eyes, almost like he'd resigned himself to her knowledge. "Yes. Mates are driven to seek revenge when their other half is murdered. She won't ever stop coming for you."

"And you will stop her from killing me?"

Damon smirked. "Since it pleases me, yes."

"And when you get bored? What then? Will you kill me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Then you can go on your merry way a better person for having known me. I won't kill you."

She looked intently into his eyes, trying to convey to him the importance of this moment. "Do you swear?"

Some of the humor left his expression and he met her serious gaze with one of his own. "Yes."

"Say it," she persisted. Bella knew vampires to twist truths and she couldn't be to careful.

Damon smirked at her admiringly, almost like he was proud that she caught that he hadn't sworn to anything specifically. "I swear that as long as you're with me I will protect you from anything that wants to hurt or kill you."

Bella sighed, relaxing back into her seat. For better or worse, she was leaving town with Damon, a strange vampire who for some reason related to her and she to him. Charlie would be safe and Victoria would be hot on their trail, but she had a better chance at surviving with Damon than on her own. There was still a part of her unafraid of death. A large part of her that still welcomed the thought of lying down in a blanket of darkness so she could just stop. Stop feeling hurt, lost and helpless.

But there was a newly awakened part of her that didn't want to yield to the pain and wanted to embrace the betrayal instead. She wanted to build walls like the ones Damon so clearly sported so that she could never again feel what burned in her heart. She wanted to fill in the gaping hole in her chest with cement and never open that part of her to love again.

She was smart enough to know that both parts of her were wrong, that neither option was healthy, but in a moment of clarity, she recognized Damon's offer for what it was. Protection, yes, but also company – comfort in a fashion – from someone who understood what she was going through better than anyone else ever could. Bella didn't know his story, doubted if she'd ever work her way past his defenses to find out, or even if it really mattered in the long run. He was probably using her, but she'd be using him too, wouldn't she? Regardless, she recognized the loneliness in the back of his eyes and knew he could see it in her as well. Instead of being by themselves, she reckoned they'd just be alone together.

Misery loves company.

"Once we're in town, turn left after the diner. I live about three blocks down from there."

Damon stared at her. His gaze seemed to be asking if she was sure and she nodded once firmly, both to reassure him and herself. He inclined his head and pulled onto the road again, his ever present smirk curling his lips.

Bella sighed. "This is a bad idea." But even she could hear the resign in her voice.

Damon laughed, a fire sparking in his eyes as he pinned her with a wicked look and said, "There is no such thing as bad ideas. Just poorly executed awesome ideas."

She couldn't help but laugh at that and in response Damon's smile grew. Hitting the gas, they sped into town, Bella's laughter trailing behind them like her hair as it danced through the breeze.

* * *

(A/N): So what do we think? Good enough to carry on, or shall I leave it as an open ended one-shot? Let me know your thoughts, and thanks for reading!

...and yes, I did pull some direct from Damon quotes ;)


	2. Puppy Chow

(A/N): WOW! Thank you so much for your reviews! I hoped I had found something special when I started writing this, and the influx of favorites/follows/reviews has surely reinforced that. This plot bunny wasn't even the first on my list of things to tackle, but every time I sat to write, Damon just popped up in his oh-so snarky way and wouldn't leave me alone! So, as per his demands as well as your encouragement, this is now my main project.

I anticipate that things will get steamy in later chapters (this is Damon, after all) and I highly encourage you all to follow my blog ( ) for the unrated version of this story - there's also a link on my profile. I will continue posting here and will let you all know when there is an extended chapter available on the blog. Thanks again to Kittyinaz for helping me set up my wordpress and for encouraging me in this project!

And I promise not to be so longwinded in future author notes, lol – I know I said that before, but I mean it this time! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come :)

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"_Hear your heartbeat  
Beat a frantic pace  
And it's not even seven AM  
You're feeling the rush of anguish settling  
You cannot help showing them in_

_Hurry up then  
Or you'll fall behind and  
They will take control of you  
And you need to heal the hurt behind your eyes  
Fickle words crowding your mind"_

**Poets of the Fall - "Sleep"**

* * *

**_Thirsty for Your Love_**

**_Chapter 2_**

Damon turned the car off when they came to a stop at Bella's house and they sat there for a moment in awkward silence. They'd been quiet for the majority of the ride, Bella softly relaying directions while Damon made odd quips about her Podunk town, as he liked to call it.

When he made no move to exit the car, Bella finally said, "This is my house."

He turned to her and shot her a _don't-be-stupid_ look and said, "No shit."

Bella looked down, embarrassed. "Um, Charlie should be home in a bit, so I'll get some things together and then you can do your Jedi mind trick thing. It won't hurt him, will it?"

Damon snorted. "It won't, but I'll hurt you if you ever call it that again. I'm way cooler than a Jedi."

She rolled her eyes and was about to retort when Damon's head snapped to the left sharply, his eyes fixated on the treeline. His head was quirked slightly and she instantly recognized his expression having seen the Cullens look similar whenever they strained to hear something her human ears could not detect.

Oh no, she thought. Was it Victoria already? Could it be starting so soon? They hadn't even left town, _for chrissakes_.

"Go inside, Bella," Damon ordered.

"W-what is it? What do you hear?"

Quickly, Damon got out of the car and Bella scrambled to follow, tripping over her feet in her haste. He was there instantly, gripping her arm and hauling her towards the house.

"Shut up and go inside. Stay there until I come back."

Bella bit her lip to stifle the protest poised to fall. She wanted to stay with him and make sure he wouldn't be hurt from whatever was out there, but Bella had learned the hard way that she was physically no match for the supernatural. So instead of insisting he let her come with him, Bella merely placed her hand on his arm, her fingers finding purchase his leather jacket. "Please be careful," she said.

Damon frowned at her hand, and then flicked his eyes up to stare at her. His expression was unreadable, his guard clearly up as he studied her for a long, tense moment. Feeling like she may have committed some sort of faux pas, Bella started to move her hand away, fighting the urge blush and look down.

Before she could stammer some sort of an apology for offending him, Damon caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips for a peck. It would've been in a politely romantic gesture had he not been sporting his ever constant mocking smirk. "I make no promises, sweetheart. But don't worry, it's the other guys you got to worry about." And with a wink he was gone, running in a blur into the woods to face whatever was out there.

Bella sighed. Already she could tell that Damon was going to be dangerous on more than one level, but she was hopeful about going with him, hopeful that he'd see _her_ as worth the risk he was taking in bringing her. She doubted that he would in the long run and she imagined the thrill she presented would wear off eventually and he'd leave her too.

Still, at least he'd been honest with her from the start. He certainly made no false pretenses about why he was helping her – not for her, but for his own amusement. That boded well for when he'd decide to leave her. Bella had no illusions in what he was doing with her, not like before with Edward who'd fed her honied lies of love and devotion. She'd be able to handle it when he realized she was just a plain, boring human girl and would take his leave. At least, she hoped she could handle it because she wouldn't really have any choice in the matter. It was bound to happen.

Closing the door behind her, Bella took a moment to organize her thoughts. It'd been an incredibly eventful day and she could feel the beginnings of a migraine stirring at her temples. Laurent had tipped her off about Victoria, she'd learned there was a different kind of vampire, Damon had decided to kidnap her for fun while in the same breath pledging to protect her for the duration of said kidnapping. It was kind of a symbiotic agreement they'd made, Bella suddenly realized, but didn't have it in her to analyze what that meant about them.

There were times she thought of the naive bubble she'd once lived in before coming to Forks and yearned for that blissful ignorance once again. Life was so much easier when the world was small and humans were at the top of the food chain. All she had to worry about was college coming up and making sure dinner was edible when her mom decided to cook for them.

Massaging her temples, Bella moved to the stairs, resigned to pack her meager belongings and leave Forks once and for all.

"Bella."

She froze, her head snapping to the kitchen. There was a silhouette of a man standing close to the backdoor. He was tall and dark, and as he moved towards her, she recognized him instantly.

"Jacob?"

It was him, but not. He was like Jake to the nth degree. He'd shot up several inches, had muscles where he'd once had scrawny arms and his hair was cropped short and neat in an almost military fashion. And was that a tattoo she saw on his shoulder? He could have easily passed for a man and not the young teenage boy Bella knew him to be.

Instantly she was wary. There was nothing _natural_ about the way he looked – and she doubted something like steroids would have worked so effectively in the few weeks he'd been avoiding her.

She took a step towards the stairs. She'd never make it out the front door before he could reach her, and with Damon outside fighting who knew what, it'd probably be safer if she could make it up to her room and lock herself in there. She didn't know why she was thinking that way, but something inside her told her something wasn't right. That she should be careful.

"What are you doing here?"

He either didn't notice her accusatory tone, or he simply ignored it, because he only smiled in response and took a step further into her house. "I'm here to help you, Loca. Don't be afraid. I'm here now."

That made her even more wary and Bella suddenly felt like a cornered animal with no where to run. "You can't ignore me for weeks and then show up out of the blue like this, Jake. Your actions have spoken clearly and I get it, so just go home. And don't come into my home uninvited again."

Jake frowned. "You don't know what you're talking about, Bells. I'm your friend and I'm here to help."

Bella stiffened. The hurt and despair she'd lost herself to was still there, but the newly discovered anger and resentment was reigniting and proving far stronger. "Friend?" she hissed, an unfamiliar bitterness tinging the word. "You've ignored me for weeks, Jacob Black. Avoided my calls, brushed me off like I was nothing more than a bad habit you suddenly decided to drop – you even had your dad tell me off for you the last time I called. You are a coward, and you are no friend of mine. I have no friends." And she meant that last part with every fiber of her being. She only had herself she could depend upon – that lesson had been hard learned these past few months.

Anger stiffened him and through a clenched jaw, Jacob said, "You're mad. I get it. But you don't know what you're talking about. You have to come with me Bella, it's not safe for you here."

The anger burned brighter. Who did he think he was? What made him think he could ignore her for weeks and then show up out of the blue and order her around without giving her any information?

Abruptly, her anger shifted inwards. She knew exactly why he thought he could treat her this way. It was her own fault because she'd always let herself be ordered around before. All she ever did was let people make decisions for her. Edward practically dictated her whole life while they'd been together, and the rest of the Cullens had been no better.

Alice had constantly used her visions to twist Bella to her will. Jasper had manipulated her emotions plenty of times, usually in an attempt to help, but she'd never asked for his help and he'd never asked her permission before toying with them. Emmett and Rosalie had been the most truthful, particularly Rosalie who never tried to hide her disapproval, but they were also guilty of condescending to her for being a mere human. Even Carlisle and Esme were guilty of the that. It was like they'd wanted her to think she was one of them, but they'd constantly looked down on her for being what she was. They'd used her humanity, something she couldn't control but they could, against her.

And when they broke her, Bella had latched on to Jake. She'd given him too much power over her well-being and when he'd tired of her, once again she broke. The shattered pieces left by the Cullens had fractured further under his care. Even if she could somehow pull herself back together, the pieces would never fit the same way again. The girl Jacob had known, the little human the Cullens had adopted, was gone forever.

This time, Bella would pick up the pieces herself. Her well-being was her own responsibility and she'd never again allow herself to become dependent on another in such a manner. If it took years, Bella would find a way to forge the shattered pieces of her soul back together and once she did that, she'd never let herself fall again.

Suddenly Damon's face flashed in her mind and she knew she wasn't being completely honest with herself. She was risking herself with Damon, by depending on him even if only for protection and nothing else. But there was a strange sort of affinity she felt with him that told her she was safe. Damon wouldn't hurt her. Not like that, at least. He was broken too, and if anything, they'd help piece each other back together, or maybe he'd give her the courage to fix herself. Maybe he could show her how to build walls as impenetrable as his own. Bella may be contradicting her sudden vow of independence by thinking this way, but she knew with every fiber of her being that Damon Salvatore was nothing like the Cullens and Jacob Black. If anything he was like her, and knowing she wasn't entirely alone in this godforsaken world of monsters brought Bella far more comfort than anything else had in a very long time.

With the weight of her realizations, Bella felt herself harden further towards Jacob. Her hands curled into fists, her fingernails biting sharply into her palm as she said, "You don't understand anything, Jacob, you never did. And I'm not going with you ever again."

Jake started trembling, like he wanted to leap at her but was restraining himself. "We don't have time for this, Bella. You have to come with me now."

Bella moved closer to the stairs. "No," she said lowly.

"Bella," he snapped. "Stop being an idiot – you have no idea what's going on here. You're coming with me if I have to carry you kicking and screaming over my shoulder. You get me?"

"No!" she shouted, turning and making for the stairs.

But Jake was faster and he tackled her before she made it to the fifth step. They crashed against the stairs together and Bella felt pain ricocheting against her left side, her wrist twinging sharply.

Jake hauled her up, his hands squeezing her wrists as he tried to tug her to the kitchen door.

"Let me go, Jacob Black. You've no right!"

"Don't be stupid, Bella – I'm trying to help you!"

His grip tightened as she fought him.

"Ow! Jake you're hurting me!"

"Then stop fighting and come with me," he yelled. "Stop being so stubborn!"

Bella stared at him in horror. He was shaking, his rage barely controlled, and he felt so hot against her, like he was literally burning up with fury. It wasn't a normal reaction and she had a sudden moment of clarity, realizing that Jake was holding her with an unnatural strength – strength similar to that of a vampire.

No sooner had the realization hit, Bella was startled by the front door slamming open. Damon stood bracing himself with both hands on the frame looking like he wanted nothing more than to launch himself into the room.

"Damon," she sighed. The sight of him alone brought her immeasurable comfort. Better the demon she knew than the unknown one Jake had become.

"Invite me in, Isabella," he ordered. His voice was deep and his expression hard. He certainly didn't look harmed from whatever he'd faced out in the woods and Bella slumped a little in relief. On the contrary, he looked angry but almost happy. Excited from his fight and eager for another.

"Bells, come with me," Jake said again, giving her wrist a sharp tug.

Bella cried out and Damon roared, "NOW ISABELLA!"

"Come in, Damon, come in," she gasped, tears pricking her eyes.

Instantly Damon was there and had Jake against the wall. He held him suspended in the air with one hand, sneering at him.

"W-Who are you?" Jake wheezed, his entire body shaking as he gasped for air.

"I'm pissed off is what I am," Damon snapped. "I suppose those were your puppy pals out in the woods?"

Jake struggled uselessly. "What did you do to them?"

"Relax Fido. They're fine... mostly. Nothing a trip to the vet won't fix. They were lucky – I got a bit distracted towards the end there. You alight, sweetness?" His eyes never left Jake, but his head moved slightly towards her.

"Yes," she said despite the throbbing in her wrist and the aches that resonated from when Jake had tackled her into the stairs.

"Now why don't I believe you?"

"Leave her alone," Jake spat, struggling against Damon's hold.

Damon laughed. "Down boy – you even think of shifting and I'll rip your fucking throat out, get me? You're not really in the position to be making orders here. So tell me why you were waiting to ambush my friend here, and if I like your answer I'll only hurt you a little."

"She's _my_ friend," Jake said.

"Really? You got a funny way of showing it, pup," Damon's eyes darkened some and quick as a flash he drew back his arm and punched Jake in the jaw. "Now, that's for tackling her into the stairs. Bad dog. And this," he threw a kidney shot, "is for her wrist. Speak pup, tell me why you're here."

"We caught the scent of a leech circling her house. She's being hunted by some bloodsuckers and we came to protect her," Jacob wheezed.

A grin lit up Damon's face. "And why would she need a guard dog when I'm here?"

Jacob started – growling? Bella wasn't sure if she'd hit her head in the earlier scuffle, but their entire conversation seemed like something out of a dream. She was so befuddled that she really only took in part of what they were saying.

Moving to sit, Bella cradled her head in her hands and thought harder on what was happening. Certain words popped out as they spoke... Jake had said leech and bloodsucker, hadn't he? And Damon was making snarky dog references – and what was it he threatened Jake with earlier? _You even think of shifting and I'll rip your __fucking __throat out_.

A memory slowly surfaced. She and Jake were walking along First Beach and she was clumsily flirting her way into hearing the legends of Cold Ones – and shape-shifters. Wolves.

Half of their legends had been proven true, but perhaps the other half...

"Holy shit," she muttered.

Damon looked at her and quirked a brow. "Princess?"

Bella ignored him and studied Jake while making a mental tally of all the strange things she'd noticed earlier. His new physique, the body shaking as if he could barely be contained, his unnatural strength, and the sheer heat she'd felt radiating from him.

"You shifted, didn't you? Like in the legends?"

"Oh that's how it is, huh?" Damon laughed. "She didn't know? And you wanted to drag her off unawares? Fucking classic."

Jake looked angry, but also relieved. "I wanted to tell you before, Bella, but I wasn't allowed. But now that you've figured it out you know I can protect you from the vamps. You can come with me and it'll be like it was before."

"So forgive and forget, is that it? Never mind the pain I went through because of you."

Jake shook his head slightly. "I'm sorry, okay? But I did that for your protection. I left you alone because I care about you, about keeping you safe – I've always loved you, Bells."

Bella laughed and it sounded hollow even to her own ears. "Care about me? You abandoned me. You knew what it would do to me, and you left anyway. You don't care for me and you certainly don't love me. If you loved me you wouldn't have been able to stay away. People in love fight for that love, Jake, they don't surrender it."

She could feel the heat of Damon's gaze and glanced at him quick to see him looking at her intently. Bella turned from his gaze feeling naked and raw.

"Bella please-"

"No," she cut him off, angrily swiping at her tears. She wouldn't cry over him anymore. "I don't want to listen to your excuses. You used to be my friend, Jake, but not anymore. Thank you for your concern, but as you can see, I don't need your protection. You're no longer welcome here."

Jacob looked heartbroken, but Bella couldn't find it in herself to summon even a drop of pity for the boy. He'd get over it like he had done before.

"Is that it, then? You're choosing this guy over me?"

There was no hesitation. "Yes. Now get out."

"Look at me, who wouldn't choose this," Damon snarked, shoving Jake to the door and getting in another hit before tossing him outside.

Jake rolled to his feet and looked back at Bella as she stood slightly behind Damon. "When this guy leaves you, don't expect me to be around to pick up the pieces. I wash my hands of you, Isabella Swan."

Then he ran off into the woods.

Bella deflated once he was gone. The hole in her chest was burning again. Without Jake's ignorant comments to spur her on it was harder to hold onto her anger and in its wake was the pain she'd become accustomed to. Perhaps she'd been too harsh on him – unfair considering he'd been dealing with his own issues.

But no, Bella decided. She couldn't make excuses for him. If he had been even remotely sincere when he gave his half-assed apology, she might have acted differently, but he'd swept her emotions away carelessly like his were the only ones that mattered. She'd been pushed aside again. This was for the best, she decided, and she straightened some once she reached that conclusion.

Looking to Damon she found him hovering nearby, watching her. When their eyes met, he seemed to read her, nodding slightly as though in approval of her decisions.

There was a beat of silence before Bella said, "So that whole inviting in thing is true, then?"

Damon quirked a brow at her as if to say _really, that's what you want to talk about_. Nonetheless, he answered, "Yes. Most of the myths got it right with us. Stakes, daylight..."

"How are you out in the day?"

"I'm just that amazing," he grinned.

It was Bella's turn to lift a brow. Rolling his eyes, Damon held up a hand and she noticed the ring he wore, glinting softly at her. "The stone – lapis lazuli – it's spelled."

Bella took a deep breath. "Spelled? As in a witch?"

Damon smirked, nodding.

"Right. Of course there are witches. Obviously right? I mean, there are vampires, and shape-shifters, so naturally there are witches."

"You alright there, sweet pea?" He didn't sound concerned, but rather amused.

"Perfectly fine. My world just keeps getting bigger and I keep getting smaller."

Damon laughed. "And that's why you've got me. There's nothing bigger than me," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Laughter bubbled out of her. "I'll take your word on that, big boy," she snorted.

He grinned at her as she tried to stifle her slightly hysterical giggles. The adrenaline was wearing off and she wouldn't be surprised if she was going into a mild state of shock.

"Are you alright?" she managed to ask once she'd calmed down some.

He frowned. "I'm as perfect as I always am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you were out there fight shape-shifter wolves, right? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Please," he sniffed indignantly. "It takes a lot more than overgrown puppies to hurt me."

Bella smiled. "I'm glad you're alright."

He gave her another one of those searching looks, like he was trying to determine her angle or whether she was telling the truth. All it did was reinforce her earlier sentiment. Damon was obviously not used to someone worrying about him. Bella imagined he'd been lied to before, probably in a similar manner as her, and it'd made him question everything and everyone since. But instead of feeling sorry for him, Bella only felt a strong sense of kinship, and maybe some envy. She wanted to be able to read through people's lies like he seemed to be able to now. Perhaps he'd teach her if she asked him nicely.

After he seemed to determine she was being honest, he broke his stare and changed the subject. "I was right about you, wasn't I, hot stuff?"

Bella blushed. "Um, what?"

He smirked at her. "You're just fascinating for a human – bit of a danger magnet, huh? Cold Ones, vampires, wolves... you're going to be trouble, I can tell."

She bit her lip and looked down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

It was happening already, her heart started to race in fear. Damon was realizing she wasn't worth the effort, that she simply had too much baggage. He was going to change his mind about bringing her with him, and now that Jake had truly written her off she'd be a ridiculously easy target for Victoria. Charlie was in danger if she stayed with him, so she'd have to go on the run. She'd become just another teenage statistic about a kid running away and disappearing. If she was lucky, she'd be able to find odd jobs and wouldn't end up sleeping on the streets, freezing and starving to death.

Damon's face was suddenly before hers as he crouched in front of her. His eyes were wide and serious and his lips were quirked in a softer version of his usual smirk. "I'm not sorry," he said firmly. "I like causing trouble."

A cautious relief filled her. He said that now, but only time would tell. But at least he was still taking her away from Forks.

"Where exactly are we going, anyway?" she asked. "You never said."

Damon stood again. "Mystic Falls, Virginia. But we'll take the long route – you ever been to Vegas, little girl?"

Bella's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"That's a must then. We'll use your womanly wiles to distract other poker players and then we'll hit the bars and get bombed. What do you say?"

He shot her a winning grin that made him look softer and younger than he'd ever had, almost playful.

"But I'm not twenty-one."

He snorted. "You're however old I tell them you are, sweetness."

"I – I've never been drunk before," she confessed.

"Really?" he drawled. "Clearly you haven't been living."

"And you have?" she quipped.

He smirked. "I'm the most living dead person I know."

"Does that mean you can drink – alcohol, I mean?"

"Eat, drink, sleep, sex – we can do all the fun stuff. Stick with me, baby, and I'll show you the time of your life," he promised.

Bella didn't doubt him.

"I'd be too nervous," she muttered. "Maybe I could just wait in the hotel room for you or something."

"You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it."

When she looked at him Bella could tell he was completely sincere. Maybe that was her problem, she thought. Ever since Edward left she'd kept herself in some sort of stasis of constant depression while waiting for him to magically reappear and fix her broken heart. Then instead of dealing with her heartbreak herself she'd allowed Jake to try and heal her. That had been wrong of her and maybe even unfair, she knew that now. It shouldn't have fallen to him to put her back together and her dependence on him was what had probably fed his infatuation with her.

It was a harsh truth to accept, but much of Bella's heartache was her own doing. She'd followed the Cullens blindly, put too much need in Jacob. She molded her life to fit theirs and when they'd left her, not only did she lose her friends, but she'd lost her sense of self.

With Damon it was different, she noted once more. He wasn't dictating her choices, although he certainly didn't shy away from getting her to agree with whatever he wanted. Instead he was encouraging her to get out. To try new things, take risks. Edward had treated her like a porcelain doll that could shatter at any moment, never giving her enough credit, but Damon seemed to think she was made of stronger stuff. They'd known each other for all of five minutes and already he gave her more credit that Edward ever had.

And suddenly, Bella wanted nothing more than to prove him right.

A tentative smile stretched her lips. Smiling felt odd and she probably looked a little funny doing it since it had been so long, but for once, Bella didn't care. "Vegas sounds like fun," she said.

Damon grinned wickedly. "That's because it's the city of sin. No one does sin like me."

_That's not intimidating at all_, Bella thought sarcastically. "Do you know how to shoot Craps?" she asked.

"Of course I do," he scoffed. "I know everything."

Bella laughed. "Will you teach me then? I've never understood it – I mean, seven's good, but then it's bad?"

Damon rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose I must to keep you from embarrassing me."

Bella grinned. She still didn't know Damon very well but she already recognized his sense of humor was not only a weapon yielded to deflect and hurt, but also a way to camouflage his feelings.

"What are you going to make Charlie believe?" she changed the subject, worried about reading too much into her musings.

"The truth, of course. That you couldn't resist my wicked charms and we're running off to Vegas to get married."

"Seriously?" she deadpanned.

He smirked.

"Damon, you can't tell him that!" she hissed.

"And why not? Some girls just can't refuse my good looks, my style and my charm and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift."

Bella narrowed her eyes. "It's amazing you can get a girl at all with that kind of an ego. I mean, really, how have you not floated away with the big head of yours?"

Damon glared at her. "You're one to talk, dog whisperer."

She scoffed. "What did you just call me?"

He leaned forward and Bella was uncomfortably aware of his lips as they grazed her ear. "You heard me, cupcake. Dog boy was all over you – smart choice in passing that up, by the way, I hear they're murder to house train. Not to mention the fleas."

"Jake's just a kid really," Bella shifted away. "Just because he's confused a crush for something else doesn't mean I have an ego to rival yours, big boy."

He sniffed. "No one rivals me."

"Clearly," she drawled as best as she could.

He gave her an amused look. "Go upstairs and pack. We've got a lot of road to cover, sugar."

She grinned and the memory of him dropping her another one of his winks lingered in her mind long after she'd finished packing a bag and rejoined him to wait for Charlie.

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(A/N): Thanks again for reading - I'd love to know what you think if you're willing to share ;)


	3. Worth the Risk

(A/N): Damon has a way of demanding I right certain scenes... so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Again, please visit my profile for the link to my wordpress account where I'll be posting the uncensored version of this story – my pen name on wordpress is BertieBottWrites :)

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"_Seems to matter what I do, so I'm saving this 4 U  
Cos it seems to be the last piece there is  
And you haven't had a chance yet to taste this  
Fragments of a life you shouldn't miss"_

**Poets of the Fall - "All the Way / 4U" **

* * *

_Thirsty for Your Love  
Chapter 3_

As they cruised down the highway, the top down and the wind slipping through her hair, Bella couldn't help but smile. She was free and relaxed for the first time in months. With the rate Damon was driving they'd be in Vegas within the half an hour. He'd taken what was supposed to be a twenty hour drive and had brought them to the outskirts of the city of sin in just over twelve.

At first, she'd been nervous about the speed, but after they were pulled over the first time, Damon had merely smirked at her while compelling the officer to forget about them and they were back on their way in two minutes flat.

The old Bella would've been horrified at their speed and the tampering of a police officer's memory, and the first time it'd happened she'd made a token protest. But Damon had merely scoffed at her and told her to live a little, which then prompted Bella to get lost in thought about how, making friends of vampires and shape-sifters aside, she never took any risks. Her life was boring – _she_ was boring, always playing by the rules. This then prompted her to reflect on the life she'd made for herself and how'd she feel if Victoria succeeded in killing her tomorrow... Would she feel satisfied that she'd lived fully and wholly?

The answer had been a resounding no. If she died anytime soon she'd like to be able to say it'd be without regrets, but at only eighteen years old, she had far too many regrets scarring her heart. This realization had made her a curious combination of angry and sad. But then she had resolved to take Damon's words to heart – to live a little and have some fun.

"Sweetheart, sometimes you have to make you're own fun," Damon had told her.

And they weren't hurting anyone really, so where was the harm?

So instead of balking at the speed, she'd leaned her head back and embraced it. She'd giggle at Damon as he made funny faces to her when a cop would start walking away after pulling them over. It had quickly turned into a game for them, making bets on how many times they'd be stopped and how quickly Damon could get them out of trouble.

"What do you say we make a run for it this time – just keep driving? You can be the Bonnie to my Clyde," he winked at her when they'd been stopped outside of Portland.

Unbidden, an image Damon dressed in clothes from the thirties came to mind. She could picture him in a fedora, a cigarette perched precariously between his lips as he held a Tommy Gun aloft with a smirk.

Blushing, she shook off the image. She half certain that he'd been joking anyway.

Smiling at the memory, Bella trailed her arm through the wind, loving the feel of it slipping between her fingers. She thought back to when Charlie had come home and to the look on his face when he'd found her and some strange man sitting on the couch, clearly having been waiting for him.

Charlie had given Damon a suspicious once over before looking to Bella. Taking in the nervous appearance of his daughter, his suspicions had increased and the Chief had immediately on the defense.

"What's this now?" he'd asked gruffly.

Before Bella could stammer a nervous reply, Damon gave her a smile drenched in mischief before smirking at Charlie, saying, "Why hello there, Chief. I'm Damon Salvatore."

Charlie eyed him. "And what are you doing in my house with my daughter, Damon Salvatore"

Damon's playful grin widened. "Why, I came to help her pack, sir. We're heading to Vegas. You see, we're in love and we simply cannot wait a moment longer to get married."

Bella's eyes widened in horror. "Damon," she hissed, throwing an elbow to his gut.

Charlie choked on air.

"Now, now, love. No need for that," Damon's eyes bored into Charlie's and Bella noticed his pupils dilating as he took on that low, commanding tone that sent shivers down her spine. "You are happy for your daughter. I'm an old friend of the family – you trust me and you're thankful I'm with her. You support her decision to leave with me."

"I support her decision," Charlie parroted slowly, frowning slightly as though he didn't recognize the words coming out of his mouth.

Damon scowled some, then looked to Bella. "It should hold, but now I see where you get it from, princess."

Bella bit her lip. "Please Damon," she cleared her throat some when her voice cracked. "Please, make him able to take care of himself without me here. Make him be happy without me."

He stared at her and looked like he wanted to say something, but then he merely sighed, ran a hand through his hair and then turned back to Charlie. "You'll be happy, but only because you know Isabella is happy. You will take care of yourself and you will be happy without Isabella here, Charles Swan."

He spoke more firmly than he had the first time, and he sounded angry. Bella wondered if she had upset him by asking him to compel Charlie further than he had intended and she made a mental note to apologize and thank him for it later. She simply couldn't leave without some form of assurance that her father would be alright – especially if she never returned to Forks.

While she'd been reticent about moving to Forks before, a large part of her now absolutely loathed the town. Before, she had missed her mother and the sun, but Forks now represented more than just a rainy, dull town. It was the place where her youth had died – where Edward had callously killed that part of her in less than ten minutes, leaving her in the middle of the forest, wounded and forgotten. A part of her had given up that day. Bella had curled up inside of herself as her innocence withered, and then, with nothing more than a trembling gasp, it'd died.

Now she was learning to heal and move on, but she'd always mourn the loss of that youthful innocence even as she slowly hardened herself. She didn't think she'd ever be brave enough to open herself to the pain of loving someone again. And that was sad, she knew. She wasn't even in her twenties and already she was jaded to romance. Pathetic, she scoffed at herself.

The rest of their time with Charlie had passed awkwardly. He'd been eerily happy with her leaving, supposedly to get married, and was particularly friendly with Damon.

"Thank goodness you talked some sense into her, son," he'd told Damon as they moved to the door to leave. "The way that Edward kid left her in the woods... I would've shot the bastard had he the stones to stick around for the mess he created. But I trust you with Bells. You'll take good care of our girl, won't you?"

Damon smiled, but it was one step away from a smirk. "The best, Charlie. Nothing but the best for_ Bella __mia_." He'd purred the last words in a light Italian accent that made her involuntarily shift.

As soon as they were in the car and out of the driveway, Bella had turned to Damon. "Why did you tell him we were running off to get married? You realize if I ever come back he'll expect you with me, right?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "I told him that before the compulsion, so if you ever come back you can make up some excuse. Besides, the look on his face was worth it."

Bella relaxed some. Then she remembered how he'd seemed angry earlier and said, "I'm sorry about before."

He frowned at her. "What about before?"

"When I asked you to compel Charlie beyond what you meant to. You sounded angry, and I'm sorry if I forced you to do something you didn't want to."

He snorted. "I can't be forced to do anything I don't want to, sweet cheeks, especially not by a tiny little girl like you."

"Then why were you upset?"

He looked at her briefly, before he said, "Because it's quite obvious you hold everyone else's happiness before your own. You're too self-sacrificing and it's annoying."

Bella reeled back some. "Annoying? Why would something like that annoy you? Isn't it a good thing to put others before yourself?"

Damon shook his head. "Not to the extent you do, little girl. You need to value yourself more. Your happiness is important too."

Bella frowned, not really liking how open they were conversing, but still feeling the need to defend herself. "If you love someone you always look out for that person. Haven't you ever been in love before?"

Instantly she wanted to take the words back. That was far too personal a question, especially to someone like Damon who, for all his snark and humor, was probably sustaining more emotional pain than she could imagine. But before she could stammer an apology and tell him to forget about it, he was glaring at her as he admitted, "I've been in love before. It's painful, it's pointless, and overrated."

Bella didn't know what to say to that. She wanted to deny it, tell him love was kind, beautiful and completely worth the risk for the right person, but her protests would've rung false even to her own ears. She wasn't sure she even believed in love anymore.

If in the future Bella ever began to doubt how much alike they were, she'd only have to think back to this conversation to be reminded that they truly were two of a kind.

"I think I agree with you," she finally said.

They were quiet for sometime before they'd reached a diner and Damon stopped so they could eat.

Bella had watched incredulously as he swiped the discarded pickles from her burger, plucking them onto his.

"What's wrong with you? You don't like pickles? Women these days..."

She'd narrowed her eyes and countered with, "What's wrong with you? You actually _eat_? Vampires these days..."

Damon had widened his eyes innocently at her before taking a huge bite of his burger, smiling obnoxiously as he chewed. Bella had rolled her eyes and the ice that had lingered around them after their earlier conversation had thawed and he was back to his usual, teasing, snarky self.

In fact, Bella was starting to suspect he was purposefully finding speed traps set up by the police so he could tease her when the cop stopped them. It would've made her mad had he not been so funny about it. When Damon was truly amused, not just the mask of mild amusement he wore at other people's expense, his eyes were lighter and there was an almost glow about him. He was truly a beautiful man. Bella may be emotionally damaged but she certainly wasn't blind, and his beauty was even more enhanced when he smiled genuinely – which he seemed to do every time she laughed at his quirky expressions behind the officer's back.

"You get the next one," he said abruptly, breaking her thoughts.

Bella blinked. "Come again?"

Damon looked at her and smirked. "The next time we get pulled over, you get us out of it. Why should I do all the work?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Maybe because _you're_ the one speeding," Bella pointed out.

He shrugged and looked wholly unconcerned as he gave her a sly smile. "But you like the speed, don't you, cupcake?"

Bella huffed. "Regardless," she drew out. "You're the one committing the act so it stands to reason you should be the one to get us out of trouble."

Damon laughed. "It does, doesn't it? But I won't. It's all on you next time."

"What?" she gasped. Just the thought of it was starting to freak her out. "That's not fair."

"Life's not fair," Damon pointed out.

Bella's heart began to flutter nervously. "But, what do I do? I can't compel – how would I even begin to get us out of a ticket?"

Damon shot her a look. "You're kidding, right? Shake what your momma gave you, Bella Swan. If you got it, flaunt it. You _flirt_, silly girl."

"Flirt," the word felt foreign in her mouth.

"Dear lord, don't tell me you've never flirted to get out of trouble or to get your way... and you call yourself a woman."

"Hey," she smacked his arm, a useless endeavor but it made her feel better. "I resent that remark."

"Maybe you should resemble it instead. Seriously though, haven't you ever flirted to get something?"

He seemed genuinely interested so she gave it some thought. She'd sort of flirted with Jake that time on the beach in order to get him to tell her the tribal legends, but all she'd done was smile and indicate that they could be friends. She doubted that was what Damon was talking about.

"Not really," she admitted.

Damon snorted. "Well, there's no time like the present," he grinned.

It was then that Bella noticed the tell-tale red and blue lights coming from behind them.

Her heart trembled. "Damon," she hissed.

"Isabella," he retorted even as he signaled to pull over.

"Please," she begged.

He grinned. "Nope. It's all on you – and I should mention that if I end up with a ticket, I'll be pissed."

Her hands started shaking. She couldn't believe he was making her do this. Actually, that was a lie, this was so like the Damon she'd come to know. It was nearly midnight and they were about to be pulled over in Las Vegas. Bella was sure she looked horrible. They had decided not to stop at a hotel and had pushed through the trip in one go, Bella dozing here and there while Damon drove. Her hair was a wild mess from the wind and it wasn't like she was wearing revealing clothes or any makeup. She was sure she'd fail to entice.

Damon killed the engine. "Hey," he said quietly. Bella looked at him and saw he was using his serious face as he gave her a pointed look. "You're gorgeous and you can do this – stop telling yourself you can't."

Bella stared at him. He seemed to be trying to compel her into believing him even though they both knew it wouldn't work. For the first time, she wished Damon's mind trick would work on her. But as the cop turned on his brights and illuminated the cab of their car, Bella resolved to find the strength and the nerve within herself. She'd rather find true bravery within than have it implanted artificially. She'd run with vampires for crying out loud! Even if the cop ended up ticketing them he would be far less scary than James and his coven.

She could do this, she repeated Damon's words. Damon believed she could do this and that meant she could. He wouldn't lie, not about this. Damon was brutally honest; in fact, she believed he prided himself on this. And she admired him for it, truly. She just wished it wasn't at her expense this time.

Bella took a deep breath. She could do this, she repeated. The words were an empty reassurance, but she kept them on loop in her head. Still meeting Damon's eyes, she gave a small, timid nod. She could do this.

Damon grinned. "Go get him, tiger."

With that he winked at her and Bella couldn't help but smile in response.

The cop was there – a man, thankfully. She imagined Damon wouldn't have cared if it had been a female and still would have expected her to try.

"May I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance please," the cop intoned.

Damon smiled. "Certainly officer," he said, unnaturally polite as he handed over the required documents.

"Do you know why I pulled you over, sir?"

Damon looked at her from the corner of his eye and Bella's pulse hammered harder than before. There was no doubt Damon could here it for he shot her a somewhat comforting smirk. She was trying to work up the courage to move, speak, or even breathe, but she remained frozen in her seat.

"Speeding, I imagine," Damon murmured.

"Yes sir, I clocked you going eighty in a sixty-five zone. I'm afraid I'll have to write you up."

And as if those were the magic words, Bella found herself leaning forward, her body practically draped across Damon as she placed one hand on the top of the steering wheel and the other on the base of the window.

"Excuse me, officer," she said demurely. Which was no act – Charlie had told her once that if someone was respectful and polite to an officer, they were more likely to go easy on them.

The officer stopped what he was doing and looked down at Bella. She was uncomfortably aware of her loose shirt hanging down and giving the man a bird's eye view of her breasts, and she shifted some, but made no move to cover herself. "Yes miss?"

Blushing, Bella said softly, "Please officer. It wasn't really my brother's fault – I'm afraid I was quite insistent that he speed and I feel just horrible about getting him into trouble."

"Is that so?" The cop leaned down some, looking at her intently. He was young, maybe mid-twenties, and from what she could make out he was good looking. Brown hair, brown eyes and clean features.

Not as handsome as Damon, the thought rose unbidden and she became very aware of her body hovering over his, the subtle graze of his chest against her. Blushing again, Bella looked down and then up at the officer through her lashes as she bit her lip. "I'm afraid so. You see, my best friend is in labor as we speak and I was scared I'd miss it, so I told him to drive faster. I know that doesn't justify it, sir, but maybe you can let him off with a warning just this once? He's never had a ticket before, and I'd feel just awful if he got one on account of me."

The cop stared at her. "I don't know, miss. Speeding can be very dangerous, not only for yourself, but others out on the road."

Bella felt her mouth go dry. It wasn't working. She was horrible at this, and she was ridiculous for thinking she could be _that_ girl – the confident, sexy girl who could smile and flirt with success. She was just plain, boring, Bella Swan. Not even Edward, who was a hundred and seven year old virgin, wanted her.

Suddenly, she felt Damon's hand snake across the back of her knee just out of the officer's sight. He gave an encouraging squeeze and Bella forced herself to try again. Licking her dry lips, she said, "I understand that, sir, and I promise to never be so reckless again. You're very right to follow the rules, but I'd really appreciate it if you could find it in your heart to make an exception." She licked her lips again, they felt so dry and she was so nervous. "Please... I'd be forever grateful," she finished softly, once again chewing on her lip as she lifted her hand from the wheel to work her hair back as the wind blew it across her face.

The officer's eyes drifted and he seemed unfocused as he said, "I suppose I can make an exception just this once, miss." His voice was slightly hoarse as his gaze roved over her.

Damon squeezed again and Bella beamed in victory. Again, the officer's eyes seemed to cloud as he stared at her, but Bella didn't care to think on what that meant. She said, "Oh thank you so much, sir. You're too wonderful," and she was so elated at her success that her voice came out airy and breathless. Her smile was so wide it almost hurt as she beamed at the officer.

The man nodded absently, his eyes never leaving her even as he stretched out a hand to return Damon's information. Damon lifted his arm and slipped it under her to receive the paperwork. Bella blushed for what had to be the hundredth time in the past five minutes. Her smile, however, never faltered, not even when she swore Damon had purposefully dragged the back of his knuckles across her chest.

"You drive safe, sir. And congratulations to your friend, miss," the cop said with a little nod of his head as he turned back to his car.

Bella let out a half-sigh, half-giggle and relaxed back into her seat. Her smile remained and her limbs seemed to vibrate in excess energy. She felt invincible. She felt... attractive.

Time after time of Edward pulling away and denying her had left it's mark. She'd accepted that physically there were some things they'd have to approach carefully, given his unnatural strength, but Edward had never even attempted to move pass closed mouth kissing even though he had alluded to trying for her. He'd let his fear twist their relationship until Bella could make only one conclusion: Edward loved her, but did not desire her.

It'd been a hard blow for her. Up until he'd discarded her in the woods she'd truly believed he'd loved her, but held not an ounce of desire for her body. Oddly enough, his confession of boredom with her in general had made his lack of physical desire for her somewhat more tolerable.

For Bella, she couldn't imagine not wanting to even attempt to physically express one's love for another. It was both a natural and beautiful thing. But Edward had made her feel like pervert. Like her wanting more physically was wrong. Eventually that had morphed into him just not wanting her in that way, and Bella sadly accepting the love of a man not attracted to her.

But from the beginning Damon had hinted at her attraction. He'd dropped cutesy nicknames at her, winks, innuendos all designed to fluster and flirt with her. While she doubted he meant more than that at this point – Damon struck her as a huge flirt – he had at least acknowledged her looks almost immediately.

"You feel good, don't you?" Damon asked amusedly, breaking her thoughts.

Bella looked at him, still grinning. "Is it really pathetic if I say yes?"

Damon smirked. "A little bit, yes."

But that didn't even phase her. "I don't care. I feel awesome. Did you see that? It worked!" she gushed.

Rolling his eyes, Damon started the car and put them on the road towards the strip. "Of course it worked – I knew it would."

She shot him an incredulous look. "And how did you know it would work?"

He glanced at her curiously. "Seriously? You're fishing for compliments now?"

Bella frowned. "No. I really don't get it... how did you know?"

"You're hot."

"What?"

"You heard me."

Bella nibbled her lip.

"See that? Right there with the lip – that's hot. And the blushing, and the soft voice. You've got the whole innocent pin-up girl look going on. It's hot."

He sounded very nonchalant the whole time he explained this.

Self-consciously, Bella pulled her hair behind her shoulder. "I've never been called hot before."

"Really?" he drew out. "Not even by the ex?"

Her shoulders slumped. "Especially not by him. I don't think he liked me in that way, not really."

"You shitting me?" he snapped.

Bella shook his head. "He'd barely kiss me and it was always closed mouthed. He was always pulling away. At first he said it was the whole strength and venom thing, but he never even tried for more like he implied we would. He made me feel like a pervert for wanting more."

"The guy sounds like a dick," he stated. "You're better off."

Bella shrugged. The jury was still out on that. She may have found her anger and was starting to re-evaluate her relationship with Edward with the benefit of hindsight, but she had been in love with him. That had not been faked, at least not on her part, and it was not easy to forget.

"He told me that we'd never be _like that_. That vampires couldn't be like that with humans," she said quietly.

"Bullshit," Damon growled. He sounded really angry, and Bella could feel her heart loosening, warmth flooding her since she could tell it was on her behalf.

"So," she began, then hesitated slightly before continuing, "You're saying it would've been possible. For him to do _that_, with me?"

"Sex?" he asked bluntly. Bella blushed but nodded. "Of course it's possible. Vampires can't procreate, though we love to try. I'd be happy to give you a demonstration. You just say when, beautiful."

She gasped, but couldn't help smiling. "When? You're awfully sure of yourself, big boy."

Damon gave her a smug grin. "It's only a matter of time, kitten. You're bound to fall for me eventually. I mean, look at me – who could resist this?" He gestured to himself, winking at her.

Bella giggled. "Oh Damon. I wish I had your confidence."

She expected some sort of witty retort, but instead Damon gave her a searching look and said, "You just have to believe in yourself more. In your mind you've already decided you can't, so you've become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You are gorgeous, Isabella Swan. Embrace it."

Frowning, Bella thought about his words and found that in many ways he was right. Sure, Edward had fed her insecurity and made her self-esteem go to an all time low, but her tendency to doubt herself had always been there. When Damon had told her to flirt with the officer, she'd known instantly it wouldn't work and she very nearly didn't even try. Halfway through it, she'd been sure she'd looked like a spastic idiot and would've given up and retreated into her shell had it not been for Damon's silent show of support.

She could still feel the ghost of his long fingers squeezing the back of her knee, drifting a little onto her thigh. Slowly, a bubbling warmth filled her chest and it took her a moment to recognize it as gratitude. She was grateful for Damon – for his insistence on kidnapping her and his vow to protect her which had been put to the test almost immediately upon returning to her home. But more than that, he took it upon himself to encourage her, to push her into putting herself out there and take some risks. She was positive he'd started speeding past cops because the adrenaline of getting caught made her giggle, made her feel wild and free. Surely with his vampire senses he could avoid the police altogether if he wanted.

And the way he'd casually pushed her into flirting out of that ticket. Yes, he'd put her on the spot, but not once did he give any indication that he believed she couldn't do it. In fact, it'd seemed like a given to him that she could. And when she'd doubted herself in the middle of it, he was there in his silent way, offering encouragement.

It'd been a day and already Damon Salvatore was changing her – not into something she didn't want to be, but into the person she'd always hoped she could be. Fun, confident, brave... they'd all been traits buried within her, hidden under the drama of the past few months, stifled under Edward's overprotective ways. Bella tried to imagine what Edward would think of her flirting with a cop to get out of trouble. Undoubtedly, he'd disapprove – even though she'd seen him act similar on numerous occasions in order to get his way. He'd dazzled Mrs. Cope to adjust his schedule, restaurant staff to get better tables and service... he'd even dazzled Bella herself to accept a birthday party she'd had no want of. Dazzled her into going to prom even though she'd outrightly said she didn't want to.

Edward would've found her new fun, confident and brave traits inappropriate. He would have dazzled his way into smothering them so she would turn into the docile lady she'd been throughout their entire relationship, and if Bella had found the courage to disagree with him, he would have chalked it up to her youth and ignored her in favor of what he wanted. He'd done it many times.

But Damon appeared to uncover these traits in her by the sheer will of his persistence and encouraged them to flourish. He believed in her, and in turn, it made her believe in herself. Not once did she ever feel equal with Edward. Their relationship had been unbalanced and unhealthy – she could see that now with the benefit of hindsight. With Damon, she didn't feel that way. He certainly carried an air of superiority, but he never talked down to her like a little child being scolded after asking for sweets. He didn't make her feel stupid or naïve when she'd been flirting with the cop, and he didn't make it seem wrong for her to have wanted more physically with the person who professed to love her.

He did the opposite. Damon pushed her to question what she believed and forced her to act outside her comfort zone. She didn't think he was healing her – that sounded too corny and simply not Damon's style. But she did think he was giving her the tools necessary to heal herself. He was showing her she could be brave. She could take risks and get out of trouble unscathed. Men could find her attractive and she was desirable.

What he was doing for her, likely out of boredom, was far more than what her friendship with Jake had been. Jake had kept her weak, fed into her insecurities by trying to talk her out of taking risks. She didn't think he'd done it purposely, maybe it had just been the ignorance of his youth, but she recalled the way he'd looked at her when she brought the bikes to his house. How he'd told her her balance was horrible for it and she was crazy for thinking about attempting it. In the end he'd given in and taught her. After learning of his feelings for her earlier that day, Bella knew it'd likely been because of his crush and not any real faith that she could do it.

"Isabella?" Damon prompted.

She'd fallen down the rabbit hole of her own thoughts. Shaking herself, Bella turned to Damon and saw his signature smirk. But his eyes were serious as he studied her. Damon was a hard person to read, but in that moment, Bella could read him like he was her beloved copy of _Wuthering Heights_.

He was worried about her.

Warmth blossomed in her chest as she stared at him – Damon Salvatore, the Man in Black, cocky vampire extraordinaire. He was damaged and defensive, but clearly loyal to those he found worthy of his time, and in his own way, he was kind to those he cared for.

Bella imagined she was seeing a side of him that he fought to hide. She didn't know what his damage was, but given the affinity he appeared to feel for her, Bella could only assume he'd been burned and betrayed by someone he'd loved. She imagined it'd been a woman, a stupid woman who had been selfish and unaware of the true prize Damon Salvatore represented.

And it made her heart hurt for him. In this one day alone, he'd proven himself to be her truest friend. Maybe, Bella thought, she could return the favor somehow. It'd involve in opening herself up to him more than she'd originally planned, but Bella was very grateful for what Damon had already managed to do for her. Even if she got burned in the end, she decided Damon was worth the risk.

He needed to know she thought he was worth it.

"You make me brave, Damon," she admitted quietly. "You make me feel beautiful and like I can do anything."

As soon as she said it, she had the sensation of free falling. It was as scary as it was exhilarating. Damon was teaching her how to take risks, and this was probably the biggest one she could take – throwing herself out there to him, opening herself up to hurt again. It'd not been what she intended to learn from him – she'd wanted to erect a fortress around herself to keep people out. But maybe she could do that while still leaving a side door only for Damon. Bella needed to make sure Damon knew how truly thankful she was for what he'd done for her, what he'd committed to continue doing for her. With how similar they were in many respects, she didn't doubt he saw the significance of her gesture.

He didn't say anything in response, and for that she was thankful. Bella kept her eyes focused out of the car, taking in the bright lights of the Vegas strip. When they passed the New York, New York hotel, Damon's hand pulled hers from her lap and entwined their fingers together on the seat between them. Bella didn't break her gaze from the hotels and casinos, but she smiled softly and thought she could see Damon smiling too from the corner of her eye.

Her hand remained firmly ensconced in his up until he pulled into the valet section at the Venetian and he had to let go to sort out the car. But even still, he was almost immediately by her side when the valet helped her out of the car, offering her his arm with a confident smirk.

Bella took the proffered arm, her fingers subconsciously feeling the firmness there as he led her up to the front desk to check in.

* * *

(A/N): My original goal had been to get further into Vegas this chapter, but the whole cop scene was something Damon was pretty persistent about writing... I'd love to hear your thoughts on it :) And I'm glad most of you are enjoying my cannon Damon quotes. I'm trying to just pepper them in without being too forced...

Next up, the Vegas experience! Drinking, clubbing, gambling, and because Bella's a danger magnet, some trouble too...


	4. Dance of Danger

(A/N): Hi again! Just so you all know, I'm trying to keep as close as possible to a weekly updating schedule. I was ill this weekend, so I'm a little late this time, but for future reference there you have it. It's not a promise, keep in mind, but I'll do my best :) I'm still ill so I'm sorry if there's more typos than normal in this chappie...

And I hope you enjoy the lyrics! Poets of the Fall is my soundtrack for this fic, and in the below selection, you can see where I got the title. Thanks again to **Kittyinaz** for turning me on to them, and for being awesome in general.

Don't forget to follow my blog (link on profile) for unrated chapters. They're soon coming... (pun not intended, lol)

* * *

_Come feed the rain  
'cause I'm thirsty for your love dancing underneath the skies of lust  
Yeah, feed the rain  
'cause without your love my life ain't nothing but this carnival of rust_

**Poets of the Fall - "Carnival of Rust"**

* * *

_Thirsty for Your Love  
Chapter 4_

As they walked into the hotel, Bella's hand subconsciously tightened around Damon's arm as she absorbed the fancy décor. Having been with the Cullens, she was no stranger to luxury, but it had always made her skin itch. It was like a physical reaction to her being somewhere she didn't belong. Even as she acknowledged the beauty of the hotel, Bella felt out of sorts in the midst of the red velvet hues and the classic Italian themed artwork.

Her free hand drifted to the edge of her baggy flannel shirt and tugged it nervously. When she'd packed her bag in Forks she'd spent at least ten minutes in her room in silent debate. The clothes Alice had superstitiously been moving into her closet had hung, new and fancy when compared to her usual duds, tempting her. But in the end, Bella decided to leave that part of herself behind. The clothes, while nice, were not even her style. Alice had never bothered to consult Bella for her opinion, rightfully assuming she would wear whatever purchased owing to a misplaced sense of duty. They were chic and would compliment her nicely, Bella was sure, but she'd always feel uncomfortable in them. It would've felt like she was pretending to be someone she wasn't. And honestly, the last thing Bella needed was another reminder of the family that had left her. A family she now realized had tried to mold her into something she was not, and then looked down on her when they'd found her lacking.

Damon adjusted the bags he was carrying and brought his other hand over to cover her arm, squeezing to get her attention. Bella looked up at him, taking in his dark clothes, leather jacket and generally unruffled, sexy appearance. He fit in with these lush surroundings, and Bella wondered if he was embarrassed to be seen with her.

Frowning lightly, he leaned his head down to whisper in her ear, "Fitting in is about attitude, not looks. If you make yourself belive it, then others will follow. Own it, Isabella."

Bella nodded once, thinking about his words. She supposed he was right. Her automatic self-doubt was probably obvious to everyone and made it easy for them to write her off. If Bella truly wanted to move on and take a leaf out of Damon's book, then she'd have to stop doubting herself so much. Just because she didn't grow up with luxury didn't mean she couldn't become accustomed to it. It didn't mean she was undeserving of it. She was Isabella Swan – she'd lived through horrors most people would crumble at the mere thought of. If she could face James, confident in herself and decisions, she could certainly wear flannel in a fancy hotel.

And who cared if people judged her. Wasn't her opinion the one that mattered most? Wasn't she trying to be more like Damon, who oozed confidence at all times? _What would Damon do_, she asked herself. It would probably be her new mantra in the coming days. What would Damon do...?

Bella lifted the right corner of her mouth into a small smirk, her fingers gripping Damon's in acknowledgement of his support, and raised her head. She told herself not to look down, not anymore. She'd keep her head high and meet any accusing or judging stares with an aloof glare of her own. Maybe she'd even arch a brow at those who looked too long.

She could do this, she reminded herself. Damon said she could do this, so she could.

"That's my girl," he said quietly, frank approval in his voice. Bella felt stronger in response, almost heady with the knowledge that Damon was proud of her. A small voice in the back of her mind told her to be careful, that Damon's opinion was starting to matter too much, but she ignored that voice easily. Damon was her friend in a way no one had ever been for her, in a way she sorely needed. He was worth it, she told that small part of herself that was still alone and vulnerable.

He was worth it.

Bella's new found confidence held true even as the concierge gave her a look that clearly stated he found her lacking. Her eyes never left his disapproving stare and she felt a thrill of triumph when he looked away first.

"Checking in, sir?" he addressed Damon.

Damon glared at him. He hadn't missed the little stare down between her and the clerk and he seemed angry on her behalf.

The concierge fumbled slightly under Damon's hard stare. Bella couldn't fault the man for that having been on the receiving end of one of those glares herself. Before the man could say anything, Damon looked down at her, a mischievous light entering his eyes. It made him look playful, but it made Bella instantly cautious. What was he up to?

"We want a suite in the Venezia Tower. We're honeymooning and we'll be here for a few days but have no set check-out plans so just book it for a week. That should be enough time, right my lovely?"

Bella blushed, meeting Damon's laughing eyes with an unamused glare of her own. She wanted to question him about them sharing a room – never mind the honeymoon nonsense he was spouting – but she didn't want to raise the concierge's suspicions. The last thing they needed was to draw undue attention to themselves.

So instead, Bella said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Whatever you say, dear."

Damon's lips pursed as he tried to quell a grin. Lifting a brow at her, he turned back to the clerk and said in his compelling voice, "And you'll give it to us for half-off since you insulted my girl earlier."

It was horrible of her, but Bella grinned at that.

"I have the Prima Suite available in the Venezia Tower, sir, at half-off for the week if you're agreeable?" he said completely dazed. Damon nodded and the man accepted his card when he slid it to him. "Would you like help with your bags?"

"No," Damon said tersely.

"Very well," the man slid Damon's card back to him along with two room keys, still looking dazed and confused, but he managed to give them directions to their room and Damon gave him another hard stare that had the man gulping before he led Bella away to where the elevators were.

They entered the elevator which was thankfully empty, allowing Bella to pull away from Damon and smack his arm.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" he sneered lightly.

Bella huffed. "What was that nonsense about it being our honeymoon? And why are we sharing a room, Damon?"

He rolled his eyes, completely unconcerned with her. "Relax buttercup. If your little friend catches our trail sooner rather than later, stands to reason we shouldn't be separated, right?"

Bella grumbled, knowing that he was right.

He grinned in response, looking rather victorious. "And the honeymoon was just a cover. Roll with it."

Again, Bella huffed irritatedly. She knew she was being childish, but it felt like Damon was up to something – like he was starting a new game with her and she was left clueless. However, her temper was quick to leave her and once again, Bella took Damon's arm in a show of acceptance and forgiveness.

"Thank you, Damon," she sighed, sounding half sincere.

He looked at her warily, suspicious of her change of heart. Nevertheless, he accepted her arm like a true gentleman. It made her wonder when he was turned because for such a sarcastic, smarmy kind of guy, he seemed to have the manners of a proper gentleman.

"What for?" he asked.

Bella nibbled her lip. For so many things, she wanted to say, but instead she said, "For taking care of me. I'm sorry I don't have money to give you for the room and stuff. I appreciate you looking out for me, not just from Victoria, but also in other ways."

Snorting, he said, "Isabella, I've been around for nearly 170 years. A week in Vegas is nothing, like a drop of water in the ocean. In fact, perhaps we'll hit the high roller tables... You can be my arm candy, sweetness." He gave her a wink.

How like him to sweep her sincere gratitude away, like him going out of his way to help her was no big deal. To Bella it was a huge deal. No one had ever taken care of her so naturally before and without smothering her in the process. She had always been the caregiver – with Renee, Charlie, even Edward and Jake. She was the one looking out for them, trying to help in whatever way she could, be it doing the laundry and cooking, or wearing the color blue (even though she didn't care for it personally) because Edward thought it suited her.

It was oddly refreshing to have someone looking out for her without putting a spotlight on the fact. Bella felt relieved, light almost. Like some of the tension from the past few months melted away under the knowledge that she wasn't alone, not anymore.

Belatedly, Bella gave Damon a smile. "I'm afraid I'd be rather lacking in the arm candy department. I don't really have anything suitable to wear for that."

Damon quirked his head, studying her, before looking away with a distracted, "Hm-m."

Soon, the elevator dinged and Damon led them out into the hall and managed to find their room relatively quickly. Slipping the room key in, they heard the door beep and unlock. Holding open the door with a smarmy grin, Damon gestured for her to enter first.

She knew to expect luxury and elegance. The Venetian was a beautiful hotel known for its classy Italian renaissance feel. But still, when she entered the room, Bella was a bit floored by the beauty of it all. There were fresh flowers on the end tables and gorgeous, romantic paintings hanging from the walls. The entire room screamed class and elegance in a way that was almost understated. This, Bella decided, was the type of luxury she could appreciate. There was obvious money here, but the open room felt so warm and inviting. It didn't alienate, or feel like she was in a museum.

Suddenly, she spied the king sized bed against the wall and took in the gathered crimson canopy curtain at the headboard and the golden throw blanket at the foot. It appeared undeniably soft and inviting, but the lone bed caused her to pause and twist a strand of her hair nervously.

Damon swept passed her. "So I call the left side of the bed. In fact, I call left side always." He dropped their bags unceremoniously at the foot of the bed, turned back to look at her, and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I like to cuddle. Hope you don't mind."

It was an obvious ice breaker, and Bella couldn't help but giggle lightly. Sure, it would be awkward sharing a bed, but as Damon said – it was best they stick together for her own protection. And she trusted Damon, she reminded herself. Yes, he'd probably give her hell and embarrass her to pieces about it, but she didn't think he'd take advantage of her.

Besides, he seemed confident she'd come to him for anything of that sort... and Bella wasn't so certain that he was wrong. Damon was a gorgeous man – a man who knew what he was doing with his cocky smirks and suggestive winks. Bella may be inexperienced, but she was fairly certain that his flirting with her wasn't just a way to pass the time. He seemed genuinely attracted to her, and she was mature enough to admit that she was attracted to him as well. Hell, who wouldn't be?

But those thoughts were exceedingly dangerous. While she was sure that Damon wouldn't say no to fooling around with her, or more even, she was equally certain that she didn't want her first time being with someone who didn't love her. Edward may have thought she was a hormonal teenager who was so eager to throw away her virginity, but for Bella it had always been about love, not only lust. True, she may have been hormonal as Edward had not-so subtly suggested many times, but she hadn't simply desired to have sex with him for the sake of scratching an itch.

And while she didn't doubt that Damon would be able to thoroughly scratch any itch she had, the hopeless romantic that was still trapped inside Bella's bruised heart wanted love, not just lust, even if that same part of her was dubious as to whether or not love was even worth it. She remembered what Damon had told her about love – that it was painful, pointless, and overrated. Why would she want to put herself through the pain of falling in love again if it wouldn't work out...

Or maybe, a new revelation hit her. Maybe she'd been too quick to love before and it wasn't that love itself was her problem, but that she'd loved the wrong person. How long and how well had she really known Edward before he was spouting things about lions falling in love with lambs?

Bella knew that love took work. It was the main reason her parents divorced. They'd been unwilling or unable to make their love work. She'd fought to make her love for Edward work, even going so far as to be willing to turn in order for them to be on equal footing. But Edward had been unwilling to compromise. He'd been so adamant against her turning that he'd failed her in their relationship in the most basic way, so simple that not Bella hadn't even noticed it until now. Really, he'd given up on her before they'd even started. He'd accepted the star-crossed nature of their romance, even embraced it in his usual, tortured soul way. Whereas Bella had fought to make it work, to change it so they could have their happily ever after, Edward had passively accepted it. He'd shown her she wasn't worth fighting for.

Abruptly, she wondered if Edward's unwillingness to change her was him subconsciously telling her she wasn't the one for him. That he wasn't as serious about her as she'd been about him. Oddly, Bella felt grateful that he'd never changed her. An eternity alone was not appealing in the slightest.

Another thought hit her. Was Damon alone? Was that why he was going out of his way for her, because he was tired and lonely? If so, Bella felt sad for him even as she knew he'd spout off some nonsense about always being in the best company if he was by himself. From what she knew of Damon, snarky humor and mysterious past aside, he was a good guy and didn't deserve to be all alone.

Suddenly, Bella saw her role as Damon's new friend in an entirely new light. She'd wanted to help him before, but maybe just being here was helping him? Maybe all Damon really needed was someone who wouldn't turn their back on him and would trust him – Bella didn't think he had a lot of people he could truly count on and she vowed then and there that she'd be one of them.

Letting thoughts of attraction and loneliness slip away, Bella told Damon, "I should warn you that I talk in my sleep. I can't be held responsible for anything I say while unconscious.

Damon smirked. "It's alright, sugar lips – I'm used to women calling out my name at all hours of the night."

"Dear lord," she muttered, blushing to the roots of her hair. "Seriously Damon?"

His smirk widened. "Yes, seriously," he answered, deliberately misinterpreting her meaning.

Deciding a change of topic was best, Bella couldn't help but ask, "So why this hotel? I would've pegged you for the Bellagio."

"Because I'm such a classy guy?"

She snorted, not even bothering to respond to that.

He chuckled and answered her. "The Bellagio is nice, but this reminds me of my home in Italy."

"You have a home in Italy?" she smiled.

"Yep," he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I'll take you one day. Maybe we'll start globe-trotting after I finish some business in Mystic Falls. It'll be like 'Where in the World is Damon Salvatore?'"

"And Bella Swan," she added. "Not everything is about you, Damon."

He grinned. "Sure it is. Just give it time."

"Whatever," she allowed. "I'm going to take a shower and then I'm going to bed."

The thought of sleeping in a bed, even with Damon, and not in a car was mighty appealing.

"No you're not," Damon said.

Bella put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me? Yes, I am."

He mimicked her pose. "No. Go shower, but then get dressed. We're going out."

"But it's almost one in the morning!"

"So?" he rolled his eyes. "For our time in Vegas, we'll be like real vampires. Up all night, sleep all day. I'm going to teach you how to have fun, little girl."

Against her better judgement, Bella was mildly intrigued. She'd always taken herself so seriously, maybe letting go and having fun with Damon was just what she needed. She'd had enough deep thoughts and revelations to last for the week... what with her new thoughts on her relationship with Edward, her epiphanies about Damon...

Maybe it was time to let go – to _not_ think. Just go with it for once.

Bella sighed. "Fine," she said. "But I'm still going to shower. I don't have much to wear for going out, but at least I can save my hair after riding in your convertible all day."

Damon was suddenly in front of her, using a finger to tilt her head back and toying with one of her locks of tangled hair. "I like your hair wild, kitten, but by all means, go get naked."

Half glaring at him, Bella stomped away and secluded herself in the bathroom. This room was just as lush as the rest of the place – marble tiles, gorgeous bathtub big enough for three at least, double sink vanity, and even a flat screen TV...

Casting a longing look to the tub, Bella resigned to shower since it would be quicker.

Turning the water up high and allowing steam to fill the glass shower stall, Bella stripped and climbed in, sighing as the hot water traced along her sore muscles. She noticed a bruise on her hip from Jake knocking her into the stairs, but thankfully, she wasn't as banged up as she'd feared. Considering she'd been tackled by a shape-shifting wolf, it definitely could have been much worse.

Taking her time with her hair, Bella sighed and allowed her mind to drift aimlessly, no deep thoughts or grand revelations. She simply let the hot water ease her mind along with her aches and relaxed. She didn't think she was in there long, but the shower felt heavenly and there was a bench seat, tempting her to sit and relax as the water massaged her aches. So she did, fighting he urge to sleep, knowing that Damon was waiting for her and would probably barge in if she took too long.

Finishing up, Bella turned off the water and grabbed a towel. The steam still lingered in the stall and she was completely relaxed and at ease... until she saw the dress hanging on the back of the door that hadn't been there before.

Gasping, she brought the towel around her and peered around the bathroom, expecting to see Damon. But he was gone. He must have slipped in with the dress and left. Bella imagined him sneaking into the bathroom while she was showering... would he have tried to sneak a peek at her? Knowing the answer to that, Bella shook her head. There was simply no use reasoning with Damon so it'd be pointless in calling him out on it.

Walking towards the dress, Bella cocked her head. It wasn't a dress she owned which meant Damon had gone out to get it for her. She wondered where he'd gone since it was so late, but decided that didn't matter. It was actually rather thoughtful of him since she knew he must have taken her words about not having much to wear seriously. It was just another way he was looking out for her.

A bit presumptuous too, she admitted. But still, she was grateful. She didn't know what she would have worn otherwise. The dress he'd bought was white, surprisingly. She would have thought he'd dress her in black since he favored the color so much. She worried she'd look a little washed out in the white, but the shower had given her pale skin a naturally rosy hue. And if they were going to some nightclub the lights would be pretty low anyway.

Surprisingly, she found she rather like the dress. It was small, but not overly revealing. There were no tags, probably so she wouldn't complain about the price, but even on the hanger Bella could tell the dress would compliment her well. It showed just how in sync she and Damon already were. Already he knew her tastes and just how far to push her, unlike Alice who'd simply railroaded Bella's own style into submission.

Bella noticed a folded up note sticking to the hanger. Biting her lip, she grabbed it and took in the surprisingly neat, but spiky script, '_Just shut up and wear it_.'

She smothered a laugh. He probably knew she'd feel awkward with him spending even more money on her, but she'd wear the dress, Bella decided. Damon wouldn't have bought it for her if he didn't want to. It wasn't just an obligation to him. This was him being nice – something she doubted anyone ever accused him of being. The last thing she wanted to do was make him feel awkward for thinking of her and doing something kind, so she'd wear the dress without a word.

Once her hair was dry and the dress was on, Bella gave her reflection a critical look in the mirror before declaring herself as good as she'll get, leaving the bathroom.

Damon whistled lowly. "Hello legs," he drawled.

Bella blushed. "Um, okay," she said.

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Learn to take a compliment, woman. Put these on and let's go."

She moved to take the silver pumps. When she was close enough and grabbed the heels, Damon tightened his grip and pulled her in. "You look gorgeous, Isabella, and by the end of the night I'll make sure you know it."

She shivered as his voice washed over her. She found herself smiling as he released the shoes. Sitting, she slipped the heels on. "I do believe I'll hold you to that, big boy."

Damon smiled, a playful glint to his eyes. He looked proud of her again, happy that she decided to rise up to his challenge and play his game. Bella supposed that if it meant so much to him she'd try harder to have fun. It wouldn't kill her and it was time she started fixing herself the way she should have been from the start. The time for moping was over. It was time to find herself again. And Damon would be her compass.

"Lets go get wasted," Damon smiled, offering her his arm again.

Bella laughed, took his arm, and away he led her to the Venetian's nightclub LAVO. Bella was surprised by how much she instantly liked the place. It was crowded, being a Friday and all, but the club still felt intimate. The purple, blue and red hues mixed nicely with golden orange accents making the atmosphere fun, but playful. It wasn't what she expected of a nightclub.

Thanks to Damon, neither of them were carded when they entered and they snagged a prime table by the dance floor. A waitress immediately set upon them, asking for their order.

"Bourbon, neat," Damon smirked at Bella. "And she'll have the same."

The waitress scampered off with a flirty grin that Damon ignored.

"Bourbon? I thought like, a margarita or something..." Bella trailed off.

He scoffed. "There'll be time for froofy girly drinks later. Right now, I'm educating you."

"Whatever you say," she said with a sarcastic smile.

"Now I can get used to you saying that," he grinned.

The drinks were placed before them and Bella snagged hers and sipped, saying, "Don't hold your breath, big boy."

He barked out a single laugh, lifting his drink with a wink and salute to her.

The drink was surprisingly sweet, but the second Bella took a breath the air burned a path across the alcohol's trail and she coughed a bit, her eyes watering.

Damon snorted at her again. "Easy there, princess. Small sips."

Bella found that the more she drank, the less she noticed the burn. The music thrummed around them, and several people were writhing on the dance floor. She watched them move together, sipping her drink. Soon she finished and a new drink was in her hand. A pleasant warmth started to seep through her limbs and Bella started swaying slightly to the music while watching the dancers. There was something oddly sensual about club dancing. She felt like a voyeur, but couldn't look away.

"Do you want to dance?" Damon asked after they'd lapsed into silence for a while.

Bella drank. "I suck at dancing. Clumsy, remember?"

Damon smirked. "I could teach you. Finish your drink and you'll find that liquid courage does wonders for dancing."

"Edward wouldn't approve," she said abruptly. It wasn't that she was objecting, but as soon as the thought registered, she'd been unable to hold it back.

Damon leaned forward, his voice lowering an octave so that she had to lean forward to hear him. "Then that's exactly why we should do it. Come on, sweetness, I know you can do it. You _want_ to."

Her eyes flicked to the dance floor. She remembered Edward tempting her to go to prom with him and his response when she'd mentioned the dancing. He hadn't said he'd teach her, or that she could do it if she tried. He'd simply said it was all in the leading. Like all she had to do was follow him and she'd instantly be alright because of it.

And look at how well that worked out for her, she thought bitterly. She'd followed him blindly in more than just a dance and she was paying the price for it now.

Well, no more, she vowed.

"Let's do this," she smiled. The glass and a half of bourbon was just enough to give her the courage to try without smothering her nerves completely.

"There's my girl," Damon said. He'd said that earlier, and just like before, a blushing warmth worked its way over her and she smiled at him like she had at the cop earlier – open, unrestrained, and simply beaming joy.

A small crease appeared between Damon's brows as he stared at her. He looked a bit befuddled, so Bella leaned over and rubbed the crease until his frown was gone and he lifted a brow in question at her.

"No more frowning. Only happy tonight. It's been so long since I've been happy," she sighed, her smile faltering slightly.

Damon took her hand and pulled her up. His self-assured smile was back and he pulled her close, slinging his arm around her. "Only happy," he vowed. "Now let's dance, sexy."

He pulled her to a slightly less crowded corner of the dance floor. They stood apart, maybe a foot of space between them. Both took the other in, seeming to measure the other person, looking for something. Bella bit her lip, her nerves reappearing in full force as she doubted her ability to move so intimately with Damon. Afraid that she'd embarrass him.

Abruptly, Damon's arms were around her, pulling her into him. He closed the space between them and Bella was oddly transfixed by how the white material of her dress stood out so starkly against Damon's black ensemble. She could feel the outline of his hard chest when he brought her hands up, holding them to him as he started to slowly sway them to the beat.

Damon was tall, maybe about six feet, and Bella came up to just his shoulder. Her heart was racing fiercely, far more than it had when she'd flirted with the cop, and she was sure that even with the thumping bass, Damon's vampire senses could hear it.

His hands moved from hers and traced down her sides, coming to a rest on her hips. His fingers gripped her tightly, slowly moving her hips, showing her how to move.

She wasn't sure how long they danced like that – Damon's hold firm on her as he silently directed her but still allowed her to move as she felt. Bella was aware of the songs changing, of their pace slowing or speeding accordingly, but the slight buzz from the alcohol paired with the high of being so intimately close to Damon, made her thoughts fuzzy and far away.

For once, she wasn't worried about people staring at her or fearful of embarrassing herself. In Damon's arms she was strangely vulnerable and confident. Damon made her both, and instead of loathing the feeling, she loved it. Bella loved that Damon made her confident to try something she'd never had before, even if she was taking a risk by putting herself out there.

It's worth it, she reminded herself. This feeling was worth it. Damon was worth it.

Her eyes flitted up to his only to see him staring down at her. How long had he been looking at her? What was he thinking? He looked more pensive than Bella had ever seen him.

As if in answer to her thoughts, Damon leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear, whispering in a slightly husky voice, "Tell me now, Isabella. Tell me that you know it now."

Shivering, his words seemed to dancing over her skin. Earlier, she remembered him vowing that he'd make sure she knew she was gorgeous, and as she danced in Damon's arms, she finally believed him. Finally, she started believing in herself.

Finding her courage, Bella pressed herself further into Damon, her arms moving around his shoulders as her head fell to his chest. They were still moving to the music, Damon's hands not directing her hips as much anymore, but still keeping a firm grip on her. To outsiders, Bella imagined they looked like two lovers, sharing an intimate moment on the dance floor.

Pushing away that idea, Bella murmured into his chest, "I believe you now, Damon. Thank you."

His head tilted down to hers, his lips pressing into her hair just long enough to let her feel his smirk.

She grinned. "There's no need for I-told-you-so."

His chest rumbled with his laugh and she could hear his smirk this time when he said, "I didn't say a word, beautiful."

"You didn't have to," she snarked.

He laughed again, his hands tightening on her. "I love it when you're feisty, kitten."

She sighed into him. "I think I do to," she admitted.

Once again, he tilted her head towards his. He had his serious expression on and Bella knew he was about to impart one of his nuggets of wisdom. "It's important to have a backbone. Don't ever back down from what you really want."

Nodding absently, Bella leaned her head down again, resting her ear to his chest. Even after dancing for as long as they had, Damon remained cool to the touch, not frozen, but he was definitely a couple degrees below room temperature. With her ear pressed against him, she could hear the small, uneven thud of his heart.

Pulling back with an expression of amazement, Bella looked up to Damon, who smirked slightly at her. Bella pushed her ear back to listen again. It was slow, definitely a hollow comparison to her racing heart, but it was truly the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

Distractedly, she whispered, "You really have to fill me in on your type of vampire. I'm starting to think you guys took all the good points away from the other kind."

"Oh baby, you don't even know yet," he told her, his voice dark and heavy.

Bella blushed. Suddenly it felt too hot and she pulled away from Damon who suppressed a smile as he lifted his brow.

"Um, I have to use the bathroom," Bella said.

The amused smile bloomed on his lips and even though she suspected he was trying not to laugh at her, Bella couldn't help but think he looked gorgeous himself. He was so different from Edward. Before, Edward had been the standard of her perfection. She'd compare others to him and constantly found them wanting – which was truly unfair of her. After all, what human could measure up to a vampire's unnatural beauty or inhuman grace.

But as she walked in the direction Damon pointed her in for the restroom, she couldn't help but compare him to Edward. The playing field was certainly even for him, after all. He was just as gorgeous as Edward, although with Damon there was a darker edge to him. He was like a tiger purring at you from behind a cage, but once the comfort of the metal bars were gone, the beauty was still there even with the danger exponentially increased.

Edward had constantly tried to impart a sense of danger to her, but for whatever reason, Bella never got a sense for it. She understood he was strong and deadly, but Edward had suppressed that part of him for so long that she doubted he'd ever be able to pull off the sexy but dangerous vibe that Damon had perfected.

As far as personalities go, they couldn't be more opposite. Edward had been polite and romantic, but very repressed. There was nothing repressed about Damon. If he felt it, he said it, and you could always guarantee he meant it because he had no reason to lie. He never held anything back. Edward had lied constantly, blamed her own physiology against her as if she could control being human. While she'd had fun with Edward, Damon brought unrestrained fun to her life, something she sorely needed. With Edward always concerned about social standards, she doubted he ever would have danced with her like Damon had. Damon cared only about what he thought, maybe her to an extent, but he put his wants and desires first and never let anybody keep him from what he wanted.

Walking into the bathroom, Bella moved to the vanity area and splash some water on her face. Staring at her reflection, she realized that Damon and Edward couldn't be more opposite if they tried. Also, she realized that the Bella she'd once been was dead. Indeed, she barely recognized herself in the mirror. The Bella who liked quiet music and reading late into the night – the Bella who was passive and happy to set aside her own wants and desires in place of another's – that Bella was dead. Edward had killed that Bella when he'd left. That Bella had withered and died, lost and alone on the forest floor, crying for the one who had sworn to love and protect her.

It wasn't just that he'd left her. She could respect that he no longer or had never felt for her what she'd felt for him. It was the _way_ he'd left her. Abandoned her, more like. He'd knowingly played off her insecurities. He'd cruelly twisted his words to purposefully wound her. Each word had hit their mark and she'd crumbled, weak and dying from his betrayal.

Even now, months later, the wounds ached and bled still. But it was only now, with Damon's snarky influence in her life, that she slowly felt herself rising above the ashes like a baby phoenix. She hoped she'd burn brighter than she ever had before and that Damon would teach her how to never let the flames go out again.

Feeling satisfied with that, Bella fixed her hair some and as she gazed at her reflection, she smiled. Where she'd once find flaw after flaw, Bella was now satisfied with how she looked. She was flushed from dancing, her hair was untangled but had a wild quality about it – sex hair, she'd once heard Jessica Stanley call the style. Even without makeup she remained satisfied with how she appeared. Maybe she didn't look perfect, but Bella didn't care anymore.

Damon was right, she realized. A little confidence and attitude goes a long way.

When she left the bathroom, she was smiling. The expression still felt odd and foreign to her, but she hoped with practice her smiles would sit right again. She was nearing the edge of the hall when a man bumped into her.

"Oh, sorry," she said, feeling a bit winded. Instantly, she grimaced and wanted to take it back. The man had run into her, after all. But she supposed old habits died hard, and with a polite nod, she moved to go around the guy.

His hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist before she could pass. "Hey there pretty lady, you want to dance with me."

Bella tugged her arm, but the guy's grip was firm. "No, I don't," she said, each word clipped and dripping with annoyance. Again, she thought Damon would be proud of her. "Now let me go."

"Don't be like that," the man said. Bella took him in. He was a tall, stocky build with blond hair and hard blue eyes. Something about him didn't sit right with her and it wasn't just his rude attempts at flirting. He gave off the same vibe James had in the baseball clearing. Dangerous and menacing.

Bella realized she could be in real trouble.

Instead of fear, she couldn't help but feel annoyed. It was only her first night in Vegas and already danger had found her. Damon was going to get tired of saving her if she constantly brought danger to them.

A hand was suddenly around her mouth and she was being tugged back into the hall and away from the dance floor. She struggled, but the man was far stronger than her and seemed to know where he was going because he'd brought her to a secluded corner in a dead-end. There was no one to hear them and no way to escape except through him.

"Give me your money, pretty lady, and I won't hurt you," he growled.

_I doubt that_, she thought. But she said, "I don't have any money."

"Don't lie to me," he hissed. "Hand it over."

Bella struggled against him. "I really don't have any money – look, I don't have a purse or anything. Just let me go."

The man brandished a knife in her face and Bella froze. "Then maybe I'll take another form of payment," he sneered, dragging the blade across her collarbone and then down her cleavage. He pressed the tip of the blade into her skin and Bella gasped as he cut her lightly down the center of her chest.

As abruptly as it'd started, it stopped. There was a loud bang as he was thrown against the wall, and then a muted groan as he slumped in pain.

Damon had found her, she relaxed some against the wall, but when she focused long enough to take in his expression, Bella tensed again.

Furious was not a strong enough word to describe the look in his eyes. His vampire visage, as she started thinking of it, was bleeding into his features. His canines looked longer, his face incredibly cold and hard, and his eyes glittered at her, reminding her of a cat's eyes catching the glint of light in a dark room. Those eyes were focused on her heaving chest, staring hungrily at the blood slowly dripping between her breasts.

But she wasn't afraid of him, not really. Bella was definitely concerned about the predicament she found herself in, but even now when it was abundantly clear she was in trouble, she couldn't bring herself to fear Damon. He'd proven to her since the first moment they'd met that he'd protect her and she didn't doubt that he'd keep his promise. Damon would protect her from anything wishing to cause her harm...

Even himself.

* * *

(A/N): Dun, dun, dun! I'll try to write faster than usual so you won't hang for too long. Also, please forgive me if I've described the Venetian or LAVO wrong. I've walked through the hotel, but never stayed there, so I'm going off their website and improvising.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)


	5. Doubting Desire

(A/N): This early post is brought to you by miss Kittyinaz... hope you're feeling better :)

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"_Fatal velocity, comes on with a rush  
Overpowering, gives the final push_

What never moves, is never still  
Who has the final word  
It holds the world in a single pill  
And all life rendered absurd"

**Poets of the Fall - "Desire"**

* * *

**Thirsty for Your Love**

**Chapter 5**

_Furious was not a strong enough word to describe the look in his eyes. His vampire visage, as she started thinking of it, was bleeding into his features. His canines looked longer, his face incredibly cold and hard, and his eyes glittered at her, reminding her of a cat's eyes catching the glint of light in a dark room. Those eyes were focused on her heaving chest, staring hungrily at the blood slowly dripping between her breasts._

_But she wasn't afraid of him, not really. Bella was definitely concerned about the predicament she found herself in, but even now when it was abundantly clear she was in trouble, she couldn't bring herself to fear Damon. He'd proven to her since the first moment they'd met that he'd protect her and she didn't doubt that he'd keep his promise. Damon would protect her from anything wishing to cause her harm..._

_Even himself._

Unflinchingly, Bella met his gaze. She refused to be afraid. This was Damon and all he ever did was take care of her – he wouldn't hurt her.

"Damon?" she asked lowly, her voice steady.

His head cocked to the side. Bella'd seen thirsty vampires before but didn't think that was quite the right way to describe how Damon looked right now. He was every inch the predator Bella knew him to be, but there was an unnaturally calculating look to his furious expression.

Before she could think of saying anything else, Damon was moving. He placed his hands on either side of the guy's head and hauled him up off the floor. She thought she heard him say something like, '_you picked the wrong girl, asshole,_' but before she could process that, she was watching in fascinated horror as Damon's fangs slid into the man's neck like a hot knife through butter.

As Damon drank, the man groaned and attempted to push him away. Growling in response, Damon held him tighter until, having his fill, he pulled away from the man and without a pause or hint of hesitation, snapped his neck.

His wound spurted with the fast movement and a streak of blood hit the middle of Bella's dress.

The man fell to the floor in a pile of loose limbs, dead.

They stood in silence, Bella's brain racing to comprehend what had just happened.

"You – you killed him," she stated.

Damon had a small trail of blood on the corner of his mouth, and Bella fought the urge to find a napkin and smudge it away. Looking away from him, she found herself staring a the small splattering of blood staining her new dress.

Instantly, she started breathing from her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do now was faint.

"I did," Damon said. "The guy was a dick. He deserved to die."

He sounded defensive, like he thought she was judging him.

"Um," she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

His vampire visage had faded away, but his eyes still glittered at her like two cold diamonds.

"Don't move," he ordered.

And then he left, taking the dead body with him.

"Okay," she said softly to the empty hallway.

Her mind refused to organize even with Damon and the body gone. Over and over she replayed the scene in her head. The look in the man's eyes as he'd cut her, threatening a horrible future – and the sheer relief of Damon arriving even as she saw his vampire side emerge so violently. He'd not been half as scary when he'd faced off with Laurent. She could only imagine it was because he hadn't been nearly as angry then. No, that had been fun for Damon – this had been a furious retribution.

She wasn't sure how long he left her standing there, but when he came back, he had a bottle of bleach and a mop. He dumped what was left in the bottle onto the small puddle of blood on the floor and mopped it up with ease.

Clearly, he was no stranger to covering up a murder.

He worked in silence as Bella stood frozen against the wall, silent observing. When he was done, he blurred away again – to get rid of the mop, she supposed – and then he was in front of her, cold eyes burning into her.

The dribble of blood was gone from his chin and he looked impeccably put together, not a strand of hair out of place. Shrugging out of his jacket, he placed it around her, zipping it up to cover up the bloodstain.

"Keep this on and follow me. Don't say anything, not even if someone stops us, understand?" he asked gruffly.

Bella nodded.

"Good," he snapped, dragging her away from the wall and down the hallway.

She followed limply, still a little shocked at the unexpected outcome of their evening, but also confident in Damon's ability to handle the situation. When they were halfway down the hall there was a bit of a commotion as a group of girls entered. Without pausing, Damon pushed her into the nearest corner, hiding her face with his body while dipping his own down to her neck as his hand slipped down to grip her thigh against him. There was no doubt that they'd appear to be heavily making out, oblivious to the world.

The girls giggled as they passed them.

When the bathroom door closed and cut off the sound of their gossiping, Damon pulled away and led her out into the club. He slowed once they were on the main floor, dropping her hand in exchange for slipping his arm around her waist. Automatically, Bella's arm looped around him in response, gripping the back of his shirt tightly. He kept their pace unhurried but steady as they crossed the floor, toying with her hair casually and running his hand up and down her side soothingly.

No one stopped them.

Once they made it out of the club, Damon stopped the flirty show, but his arm remained around her like he was afraid she'd bolt otherwise.

Too afraid to break the silence, Bella obediently followed him to the elevators and allowed him to steer her straight to their room. Once he'd slipped the _do not disturb_ sign on the door, he locked up the door and turned to her.

Bella sat precariously on the foot of the bed, unsure of whether or not she should speak. Unsure of what she'd even say.

"Well?" Damon snapped.

Bella jumped slightly, but quickly calmed. "Well what?"

He glared at her. "Aren't you going to yell at me for killing that dick?"

She frowned. "I wasn't planning to. I suppose I could if it'd make you feel better."

"Make _me_ feel better?" he deadpanned.

Shrugging, Bella bit her lip. "Well, you seem really upset."

"_I _seem upset," he parroted in disbelief.

Frowning, she said, "Yes?" but it came out more like a question.

Damon ran a hand through his hair. "Aren't _you_ upset?" he returned.

"A little, but it's not exactly the first time I've almost died. You called it right when you met me, Damon, I'm a danger magnet," she dismissively shrugged again.

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant – though danger magnet may very well be an understatement. I meant, aren't you upset I killed that guy?"

Bella thought on it. "Well, I suppose I am a bit. I don't really condone killing, especially on my behalf, but he was about to ra – well, he was about to do something horrible to me so I can't really bring myself to care that much. Who knows how many other women he actually succeeded in doing that to..."

"Are you serious right now?"

Bella flinched slightly at his harsh tone. "I'm sorry, Damon. I don't know why you're mad at me. I'm sorry you're always having to save me – I don't mean to get into trouble."

Suddenly he was before her, tilting her head back with his hand under his chin and frowning as he studied her. "I'm confused as hell, sweetness. You should be furious at me for killing that guy right now."

"Furious? Whatever for?"

He frowned harder. "Because killing is wrong – or so I've been told."

And it was like a lightbulb went off. He was waiting for her to lecture him, to be upset about the way he'd handled the situation, even if he'd clearly saved her life in the process. Clearly, he was used to being yelled at for his actions, to being judged for listening to his vampire instincts.

Lifting her hand, she took his away from her face and held it in hers as she continued to meet his eyes. "I'm not going to lie and say that killing is alright. I feel a little guilty about that guy dying because of me, but let's face it, he was a horrible creature and he probably deserved a lot worse than what you did. You probably saved lives by taking his, which doesn't justify it but it makes things a little easier to swallow for me. I'm not sure who you're used to talking to about this kind of stuff, but let me tell you what I understand. You are a vampire, and vampires are, above all else, predators. I would never judge you, Damon, for following what is simply in your nature."

This made him frown harder. "So your old vampires..."

She shook her head quickly. "They're not mine," she insisted, but then continued on to answer him, "But no. They called themselves vegetarians."

He smirked slightly and Bella was relieved to see the frown gone. "They were on the Bambi diet?"

Bella smiled softly. "Um, yeah. The Bambi diet. Although they also liked bigger game, like Yogi."

His head tilted as he studied her again. "And you know I'm _not_ on the Bambi diet?"

Her smile widened some, and she unknowingly started tracing patterns on the palm of his hand. "You didn't seem the type. But while we're on the subject, how do you feed?"

"My kind aren't venomous. We don't have to kill to feed, just find someone really tasty and then erase their memory afterward. It's so easy. I can even drink from blood bags if I need to."

She grinned. "So you get to have your cake and eat it too?"

"Exactly," he smirked, but he still looked a bit bemused by the turn of their conversation, so Bella set out to reassure him some more.

"Listen Damon, I'm well aware that vegetarian vampires are not the norm in your world. I'm not going to judge you. You are a vampire, a predator. I accept that and I won't judge you by human standards, because you're not human."

He looked dubious still. "You're not going to try and get me to switch diets? Convert me for the greater good? I won't lie to you, Isabella. I've killed many people, and if the mood strikes, I'll kill more."

"As if anyone can talk Damon Salvatore out of something," she muttered to herself. "But no, I'm not. While I have a great deal of respect for those who go against their nature so as not to harm people," Damon's expression fell and shuttered, so she hastily continued, "I hold even more respect for those who embrace their nature and accept what they are without hurting innocent people. Sometimes, acceptance takes more courage of the two."

Damon's eyes met hers again and she whispered, more to herself this time, "And sometimes, repression can be deadly." The image of Jasper barely being restrained by his siblings as he wildly snapped his teeth at her, desperate for her blood, flashed in her mind. All because of a paper cut.

She rubbed at the scar on her forearm. Repression could be very deadly, indeed.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't kill innocent people though – you know, to build up that good karma you were talking about before," she suggested lightly, giving Damon another reassuring smile. "And maybe, don't do it in front of me again? I know you said you usually feed without killing, but the smell of blood kind of makes me sick."

"The _smell_ of blood makes you sick?"

Bella was really starting to worry about him. He seemed to be repeating her a lot... had she broken Damon by simply accepting him? Bella didn't know if that was funny or sad.

"Um, yes," she said, kind of embarrassed to admit that to a vampire, of all things.

"You strange, beautiful girl," he murmured in amazement, bringing his free hand up to trace along her cheek. His eyes roved over her face thoughtfully. He looked very deep in thought, like he was trying to decide something. Finally, his eyes cleared and he smiled, looking almost victorious as he breathed softly to her, "You're mina," as he moved his hand into her hair.

Damon's hand sifting through her hair felt divine. Bella's eyes half closed and if she were a cat she would've been purring. It took a second for his last words to register, but when they did, she asked, "Mina? As in Mina Harker from _Dracula_?"

"Hm-m," he hummed, not elaborating.

When his hand fell out of her hair, Bella wanted to protest, but Damon moved to unzip his jacket off of her. "How's the cut?"

Bella chewed her lip as he slowly unzipped the jacket, allowing it to fall off her shoulders and onto the bed. The cool air made it sting, but she'd had far worse. "Um, stings a bit, but I don't need stitches or anything."

"Hm-m," he said again, his eyes focusing on the angry red cut running vertically down the center of her chest about three inches long. The blood had dried some but still looked a bit wet, and if she breathed too deeply it felt like the cut was tearing open again.

Damon stared intently at the cut. When he flicked his eyes up to hers there was a challenging gleam to them and he slowly, without breaking their gaze, brought a sole finger up to gently swipe some of her blood from her chest. She shuddered, feeling his finger softly caressing so close to her breasts, but she didn't look away from him, not even when he brought his bloodstained finger up to his mouth and sucked.

She knew exactly what he was doing. He was putting her words to the test, pushing her to see if she'd react negatively despite having spoken of acceptance seconds earlier. Damon was complicated and slow to trust. Bella knew, in theory, that he'd been wounded by someone he cared about, maybe even loved. She'd have to prove herself to him, just as he was proving himself to her. Words alone would not be enough. The strongest trust is earned, not carelessly given as Bella had done in the past. Damon was earning hers, and she was happy to earn his as well.

So, breathing heavily through her mouth to prevent any lingering smell of blood to affect her, Bella held his challenging stare with an unfaltering one of her own.

They remained like that for a long moment until Damon smiled, breaking their staring contest. Bella's posture relaxed, knowing she'd just passed some sort of test.

"You taste delicious, mina," he smirked. "Best I've ever had."

Bella rolled her eyes. "A high compliment indeed. I'm flattered."

His head lifted arrogantly. "You should be."

Smiling despite herself, Bella shook her head. It was nearly five in the morning and she was exhausted. "I'm going to rinse off again," she gestured to her haggard appearance, the man's blood on her dress and her own staining her chest.

Damon nodded. "Too bad about your dress," he commented casually. "It looked great on you."

Bella blushed some, much to his amusement. "Doesn't matter."

He leaned twords her, and promised, "I'll buy you a new one."

"You don't have to."

He smirked. "I know. But I will."

She smiled softly. "If it makes you feel better, then whatever you say."

He tossed her a wink. "That's the spirit, mina. Now go get naked."

Snorting, Bella grabbed some nightclothes from her bag and took her second shower of the evening. Not more than twenty minutes had passed until she came out again, her hair still damp despite running the hair dryer through it.

Seeing Damon, she did a double-take. He was perched on the bed facing the bathroom, clearly waiting for her. Dressed down from earlier, he was completely shirtless and clad only in satiny, black sleep pants.

He was pale, but there was a slight peachy tint to his skin that made him look lively, healthy. And he was just as muscular as she'd pictured while they were dancing.

_My hands were there_, the thought popped up in her head. _My hands touched that over his shirt. I've touched that_.

He was muscular but lithe. She'd always thought Edward had a nice physique, but when faced with a shirtless Damon... Well, maybe it was childish of her, but she rather thought he made Edward look like a limp noodle in comparison.

"Are you going to stand there and ogle me all night?"

Bella's face heated and she locked her eyes on the floor, completely mortified that she'd been entirely obvious.

Damon sighed and his tone softened. "You know I don't mind, mina. Who could blame you – I'm a stud."

A nervous giggle escaped her.

"Come here, mina," he bid. "Time to play doctor."

Bella looked up from the ground and saw him brandishing a first aid kit at her.

"Um, that's probably not necessary."

He didn't back down. "Humor me then. Come here."

His tone told her resistance would be futile, so obediently she walked over to the bed. Smirking softly, Damon pulled her between his legs and undid the first few buttons on her flannel sleep shirt. Bella stood still, her heart racing as he expertly undid the buttons. Picking a freckle on his shoulder, she resolved to stare at it and not let her eyes wander.

"You know," he said conversationally, opening the kit to grab an alcohol wipe. "If I gave you a couple drops of my blood this would heal right up, along with those bruises Fido left on you."

"You have magical healing blood?" she asked doubtfully.

He nodded with a tiny smirk.

"Um, I'll pass thanks." The thought of drinking blood... no thanks, she shuddered.

Damon didn't glance away from attending her cut. "You say that now, but something tells me I'll have to fed you my blood at some point. You truly are a danger magnet, mina."

He swiped the alcohol wipe gently over the cut and Bella jumped at the sting, hissing slightly. Pursing his lips, Damon moved in closer, lightly blowing along the cut which instantly soothed the burn. Suddenly, Bella felt the urge to run her hands through his hair, to trace her fingers along his broad shoulders.

Finding the freckle again, Bella said quietly, "Thank you, Damon."

"For what?" he asked, getting out a small piece of gauze to tape over the wound.

Frowning, she lost herself in memory of the last time someone had taken care of her like this. Carlisle had stitched her up after her birthday, but he'd used the cold, steady hands of a surgeon. It was nothing like this. Even when Edward would help her clean a cut or scrape, he'd always been quick and efficient. Certainly not as... caring, she decided was the right word, as Damon was right now.

Not once had he ever blown over one of her cuts to soothe the sting. She didn't even think Renee had ever done that for her when she was a kid.

"You're always taking care of me," she confessed quietly, almost ashamed. She was eighteen years old and had always taken care of everyone around her, and yet the second Damon entered her life it was like she was perpetually the damsel in distress. Although she'd been that even before Damon, if she was being honest with herself.

"I'm sure it's not quite what you wanted when you decided to kidnap me," she sighed half-heartedly, her smile feeling more like a grimace. "I'd understand, you know..." she trailed off.

Damon finished working on the cut and shot her an impatient look. "Get to the point, mina."

It was only fair she give him an out, Bella decided, and said in a low voice, "I'd understand if you didn't want me around anymore. I wouldn't blame you. I attract trouble like nothing else and I don't expect you to put up with it if you don't want to. Just let me know and I'll leave, no fuss."

When she'd finished, Bella slumped a little and resolved to ignore the stinging of her tears as she waited for Damon to wash his hands of her.

"Feel better now?" he asked coolly.

Oddly enough, yes. It was like a huge weight she'd not even known she was carrying was lifted from her shoulders. Damon had an out if he wanted to leave, or wanted her to leave. She would never be someone's obligation, not ever again.

"Good," he smirked. "Now shut up and listen to me, little girl."

Bella's eyes widened and she blinked slowly at him.

"You're being an idiot," he started.

Bella jerked a little and glared at him. "I am not. You have no reason to put up with the drama that seems to follow me, or my past that's chasing after me. It's not really fair to you, is it? We've only known each other for a day and already you've had to save my life three times."

"I was there, I know," he said. "But it was fun and a deal's a deal."

The tears stung again as she rushed to say, "But that's just it, Damon. I don't want to be just a deal to someone. I don't want to be a burden."

She saw recognition dawn on him. "You don't feel like you contribute, is that it? You think I'm just here because I feel obligated?"

"I _know_ I don't contribute. I don't have any money, I can't fight, and I'm boring and depressing..." she would have continued had he not snapped and interrupted her.

"Good lord, woman. Shut up!"

She flinched and moved away from him, but Damon's hands pulled her back into him. Forcing her to meet his eyes, he said in a firm, angry voice, "Isabella, this shit stops right now. For someone so smart you let your insecurities get in the way of thinking. I don't do anything I don't want to, do you understand?"

He stared at her hard, trying to impart some sort of double meaning from his words.

"That douche did a number on you, didn't he?" he murmured to himself after she just looked at him blankly. Then he steeled himself and said to her, "You need to stop defining your self-worth by what others think of you – stop feeding the little doubt monkey hanging off your back. And," he gave her a pointed stare before continuing, "You need to give me more credit. Do I look like the kind of guy that would hang around someone out of obligation?"

Bella stared at him both shocked and amazed as she finally realized what he'd been saying before. She'd known Damon had walls. He was slow to trust and used dark humor to deflect while protecting himself. He'd never admit, at least not yet, to actually _wanting_ her around, to liking her even. But his actions spoke for him when he could not, and Bella realized that her small pity party was really just her own insecurities being pushed off on him.

If Damon wanted to leave, then he would – simple as that.

And he hadn't left her – indeed, he'd done the opposite. Not only did he protect her as he'd promised, but he encouraged her, taught her to believe in herself more, to take risks...

Bella slumped again in relief as she felt the truth of what he was trying to tell her without having to actually say it. While she'd made the realization that Damon was worth taking the risk for, he'd come to the same conclusion about her. At which point he decided that, Bella didn't know, but he thought it and he wasn't going to back down from her.

While a part of her still thought she wasn't worth his trouble, she resolved right then and there to stop judging Damon by Edward's actions. To stop judging _herself_ by Edward's actions. The only person she should ever judge by those actions was Edward himself and she wasn't being fair to Damon or herself by letting the insecurities Edward had played on control her.

Edward left her, simple as that, and the way he did it made her question everything about herself. But Damon had found her... and for the first time, Bella wondered if maybe Edward leaving her was actually the best thing that could've happened. Had he stayed he would have smothered her and Bella never would've felt what she was feeling now. The faint stirrings of confidence, playfulness, and a courage that Damon brought to the surface. He helped her find facets of her personality that she'd suspected had always been there, but had been suffocated in Forks.

Damon's fingers caressed her face and brought her out of her thoughts. There was a softness lurking in his eyes and in his touch that made Bella smile apologetically for doubting him. "I'm sorry, Damon. You're right. It's not you I doubt, not really."

"You doubt yourself," he said knowingly.

She nodded sheepishly.

"Good thing you've got me then, mina," he smirked, but then he adopted a serious expression as he told her, "We all have baggage, Isabella. You're not the only one to have a past. You'll have to deal with mine soon enough – are you going to run from me then, mina?"

"Of course not," she scoffed. She'd never abandon a friend that way, especially not Damon who'd already helped her so much and in so many ways both big and small.

Quirking a brow at her, Damon's expression was clear. If she wouldn't do it to him, then she shouldn't expect him to do it to her.

"Fair enough, Damon. You've made your point. You're right again."

"I'm always right, mina. You'll see," he grinned.

When Bella finally made it to bed that night she was beyond exhausted. Damon's words ran in loop in her mind, as well as the sharp pangs of betrayal from her revelations about Edward. Despite being nervous about Damon lying less than a foot away from her, sleep snagged her quickly and she was almost out before her head hit the pillow.

But while the stress of the day didn't prevent her from falling asleep, it did follow her into her dreams. The reoccurring nightmare she'd been having for weeks about Edward leaving her and then getting lost in the woods was more vivd than normal. She could smell the pine needles, feel the cold sting of the wind against her tearstained cheeks.

It was like it was happening all over again.

However, when she collapsed into a heap of sobs onto the forest floor as she'd always done before, something changed. Even as she cried, Bella felt two, strong arms circle around her. There was a warmth to her back that was safe and comforting. It was everything.

"Don't leave me," she whimpered, and for the first time, she wasn't talking to Edward.

The ghost arms tightened around her and Bella felt a puff of breath against her ear as her savior whispered, "I won't leave you. I've got you."

The words combined with the warm feeling of safety blanketed over her and the nightmare faded away until all that remained of the dream was the impression of two solid arms cradling her securely.

It was the best night of sleep Bella had ever had.

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(A/N): Just a tip... notice how even though Bella assumes Damon means Mina Harker by the new nickname, it is never capitalized (as a name would be) when Damon uses it. I'd recommend plugging it into Google Translate, set to translate from Italian to English, and then come tell me what you think... I thought it was pretty clever :)


	6. Broken Doll

(A/N): Some have asked if I plan on doing Damon's POV... well, perhaps the first bit here will answer that ;-) For the sake of expediency, I may not have edited this as thoroughly as I usually do, so please forgive any mistakes you may find.

Thanks again to Kittyinaz... as I've said, I never would have written this without having read her Bella/Damon story. It was the first Twilight/Vampire Diaries crossover I ever read and made me fall in love with the pairing...

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"_Still it don't matter  
If you won't listen  
If you won't let it follow you_

You just need to heal  
Make good all your lies  
Move on and don't look behind"

**Poets of the Fall - "Sleep"**

* * *

_Thirsty for Your Love  
Chapter 6_

When he'd first stumbled upon her, Damon had planned on eating her. It'd been lucky that their paths had even crossed and he might've consider it to be fate if he believed in that hippie bullshit.

Damon Salvatore made his own fate.

He'd been down in Seattle sampling the local cuisine while exhausting the nightclub circuit. Alcohol, women, and blood were the perfect escape from the downward spiral his life had taken. Over a hundred and fifty years wasted on a fucking bitch that had been using him the whole time. As furious as it made him he was also impotent in his rage. Katherine was long gone – who knew where – and he had no way of exacting his revenge. No way of getting those years back after devoting his undead life to that heinous bitch.

It'd been a rude awakening, opening that fucking tomb and expecting to be reunited with his former lover only to find that she'd played him for a pathetic sap. How long had she been playing him, he wondered. Had the game started while he was human, or after she'd heard of his change? It had likely been the former seeing as how she kept Stefan as a pet too, despite Damon's absolute devotion to her. He hadn't been enough for her even then. She was a greedy bitch.

So many useless questions that he may never find the answers to. They'd been running in loop in his head, each one drowning out the previous until he'd snapped and gave in to the urge to run, to escape that godforsaken town. His little road trip had been spur of the moment, but very much needed. Saint Stefan and his little princess Elena had been hovering, judging him under the guise of family or friendship or whatever shit they wanted to call it. As if they really cared.

Neither of them knew what it was to be betrayed on the level Damon had been – to have had the last one hundred and fifty odd years since his change been for _nothing_. To have devoted his life to a woman he'd thought loved him, but had used him instead, abandoning him to eternity. Alone.

_Fuck her_, he thought. _Fuck __all of them_.

There was no use dwelling on Stefan, Elena, or that stupid, fucking bitch Katherine. What was done was done and he wasn't going to cry about it like a little bitch. He'd move on and find a new reason for existing. In the mean time, he'd drink his way across country until he decided to return to Mystic Falls to give Saint Stefan hell. Damon had to make his own fun somehow, after all, and there was nothing more fun than teasing Stefanie to the point where that little vein on his forehead was about to pop. Was it possible for a vampire to have an aneurysm? Well, they'd find out.

Maybe he'd flirt with Elena some more to make his little brother jealous. She was a pretty little thing, too sweet for his tastes, but certainly doable... although he may have to put a bag over her head to keep from strangling her since she was the spitting image of Katherine.

Instant deflater.

When he'd finally entered the sleepy town of Forks, Damon had still been half drunk from the previous evening. Having seen the name of the town on a map in a random gas station, he remembered thinking that any place named after an eating utensil should definitely be home to some _tasty_ people. Otherwise that was just false advertisement and bad form on their part.

But as his drunk stupor had worn off, Damon had confessed himself disappointed in the Podunk town. There wasn't even a bar for him to renew his buzz in, for fuck's sake. At least in Port Angeles there'd been plenty of places to get drunk and find women. Sure, they may have all tasted the same, but if the few annoying girls Damon had crossed paths with near a crappy diner were anything to go by, then the population of Forks would taste like dirt and moss.

Bored, he'd pulled off to the side of the road to walk through the woods. He'd been walking for maybe and hour when the trees slowly began to thin and as he came to the edge, Damon was surprised to see a clearing. It was an ugly, dead space that had probably once been teeming with life. He hovered on the edges, staring into the empty, deadened meadow.

Gritting his teeth, he broke his stare, hating how the clearing reminded him of how he felt inside. Maybe he'd burn it down, he contemplated. Nothing like a little pyrotechnics to brighten up the day. This town surely needed some excitement.

He'd been about to turn back to his car when the clumsy steps of a human approaching caught his attention, freezing him to the spot. Perhaps it was snack time, he thought eagerly.

That was when he saw her. Isabella Swan, though he didn't know her name at the time, came tripping into the clearing, stumbling into his life. He'd recognized the haunted look in her eyes instantly. He'd watched as she collapsed to her knees, lost to her grief. She was tragically beautiful – long hair swirling in the breeze, wide brown eyes filled with tears as her arms wrapped around her chest to hold herself together.

She looked... wrecked. Absolutely wrecked.

Frowning, Damon found himself fixated as she literally broke in front of him, looking like a gust of wind would shatter her at any moment. She clutched at her chest above her heart as though holding herself together and when she spoke, Damon was surprised at the bitterness under her words.

"You lied. All you ever did was lie."

Damon watched as this girl fell to pieces in front of him. Unable to look away, he found himself completely entranced by her sorrow, so very familiar to him.

Suddenly, he recalled a line from a book he'd read for laughs, Bram Stoker's _Dracula_.

"_All over! All over! He has deserted me!"_

The line echoed in his head as he stared at her and he frowned, hating that he saw traces of it in the broken girl, hated knowing that it resonated in him as well.

He could smell her tears, hear the stuttering of her heart as she fought for control over her emotions.

Her grief was a mirror of his own and he felt irrationally angry at having to face her, furious that she seemed to have given into her sorrow instead of fighting it. It felt as though she was taunting him, forcing him to witness the pain he'd been denying. Rubbing it in his face.

Infuriated, he'd made to go forward, to kill or drink, he didn't know, but the wind shifted and he scented the Cold One seconds before he came into the clearing. He'd watched, shocked that the girl knew him. His body became taut as he listened to their exchange, learning that the girl had been abandoned by her own Cold One.

_A pet_, Laurent had called her. Damon started silently seething. Katherine had treated him like a pet too. Left him as casually as one sheds a coat, letting it drop callously to the floor. And now this girl was going to be trampled, torn to bits because some douche had pulled what Katherine had. If not by Laurent, then by the Victoria character he'd heard mentioned. Her number was up.

Damon stiffened when the Cold One reached out for the girl. He wanted her to fight even though it'd be useless, to rage and shout as he would have done in her place. But instead, he saw her eyes slip close in acceptance, in tired defeat, and she leaned in towards Laurent's hand.

She looked exhausted and ready for everything to simply end.

_I guess I have to do everything myself_, he thought, and before he'd even made the conscious decision to do so he was moving to the girl's side, standing slightly in front of her, sneering, "Not so fast there, Sparkles."

The poor girl tried to warn him off and now that Damon was closer, he turned to study her further. His first impressions had been right. She looked thin and tired. Her hair was long, but lifeless. She looked like a broken doll. Still, there was beauty there, hidden behind a familiar heartache. She had wide doe eyes, plump lips. She'd be gorgeous if she wasn't so tragic looking.

There was something about the haunted look to her eyes as she looked up at him, silently pleading that he save himself. She'd been willing to die and had tried to warn him off in the process. She'd tried to _save_ him.

Then he was decided. He'd save her. He'd kill the Cold One and then compel the girl on her merry way – it would be his good deed for the year. For once, he'd be a hero and save the damsel in distress.

Somehow, it felt as though by saving her, he'd be saving himself.

Save her he did. It'd been fun killing someone – it'd been too long since the last time and it was nice to not be yelled at immediately afterwards. When he'd talked with Bella, he'd been pleasantly surprised by the fire that seemed to spark within her. There had been fight in her yet and for some inane reason it'd made him immeasurably glad – eager even. And when his compulsion had failed, he'd been decided.

He was going to keep her.

And the girl, either brave or fool, let him. She'd not had much choice, to be honest. After all, he'd swore to protect her from that Victoria bitch and she certainly couldn't help herself in that matter. But still, she'd chosen him in the end instead of the cold death she'd been willing to accept minutes before.

Then they'd run into the puppy pals and she'd been faced with another option. The runt was someone she knew, trusted at one time. He could protect her and she wouldn't have to leave her home.

But again, she'd chosen Damon. And again, Damon felt the stirrings of protectiveness. It was more than feeling sorry for her, more than the fact that she reminded him of himself in many ways. He actually _liked_ her. Sure, the doubt and low self-esteem were annoying, but he recognized those for what they were – scars left behind by that douche she'd dated. There were times, though, that she'd shed those traits, that she'd smile and laugh at him, with him, and she truly looked as beautiful as her namesake promised.

Well, he could take care of those scars. He would show her how to have fun and would be able to kill a Cold One at the same time. A perfect road trip.

But he'd underestimated his feelings for her. Of course he was attracted to her. When he'd been showing her how to dance it'd been an epic cock tease, but one that felt so good, so worth it. He planned on seducing her, not right away because he could tell she was inexperienced, but in the end, it'd be just one more lesson he'd teach her. But then that fucker had cornered her in the hallway, had made her bleed, and Damon's instincts had surprised no one more than himself.

Protect. Kill. Defend. At all cost.

There'd been no hesitation. Isabella was _his_ and he'd kill anyone who tried to take her from him. After the clean up he brought her safely to their room and Damon found he could not bring himself to regret killing that asshole, not even knowing he'd scared her in the process. The intensity of his emotions were confusing, but he was not one to run away from the unknown.

And Bella, little Isabella Swan... her reaction, her unwavering acceptance of him, had sealed her fate – his fate. Damon was not known to be a friendly sort, but if the last one hundred and fifty some years said anything about him, it was that he was loyal to those he found deserving of it. He'd been mistaken about Katherine and he should've known better, but he would not make the same mistake twice. Fool him once, and all that.

No. This time, he'd found someone that had proven herself worthy. Someone that had proved she trusted him, accepted him faults and all. He'd found someone... flawed, but perfect for him. It may be impulsive, but it was a calculated risk. Isabella was worth it.

He'd do it the right way because it was too important to risk screwing up, but Damon had found a new purpose. It'd be a fun game, but also much more than that to him. She didn't know it yet, but Isabella was his. He was going to make her his, slowly, relentlessly... he'd win her.

As he held her while she slept, protecting her even from her nightmares, he knew that he wasn't going to let her go. Not ever.

* * *

Bella should've known better than to hope Damon wouldn't mention anything about her dream, or the position she found herself in upon awaking.

In her defense, though, their position was just as much his fault as it was hers. Damon really hadn't been joking when he said he liked to cuddle, or maybe that was not quite the right way to describe it. Truth be told the man was like an octopus, his limbs coiled around her everywhere he could reach. He was lying half on top of her using her – she blushed – _breasts_ as a pillow. Their legs were a tangled mess and Damon's arms were locked around her, one behind her back with his hand clutching her hip and the other slipping under her shirt to curl under her shoulder, clinging her tightly to him, making her shirt ride up.

He clung to her like a drowning man hangs onto a life preserver. His grip was firm and confident, and when she wiggled some, his hold did not loosen, but instead tightened. It was like he didn't want to let go of her. For some reason, his arms felt very familiar – comforting, even.

Although, Bella wasn't completely innocent herself in their intimate pose. She had been lying mostly on her back but was curved towards Damon's body, one hand lost in his hair and holding him to her, and the other drifting low on his hip, dangerously close to his ass.

He'd been awake, naturally, and his first words were, "Go ahead and cop a feel, mina. You know you want to."

She'd scoffed and tried to pull away as Damon laughed, holding her tighter as she struggled uselessly.

"Now, now, don't move. I need my pillows."

Then he nuzzled her chest, laughing more when she squeaked.

"Relax," he said. "You know you like it."

And because she did, Bella went limp on the bed. "Don't get the wrong idea, big boy," she huffed.

"Oh, but it feels like a good idea to me, Isabella. Very good, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, his hands caressing her sides.

Bella let out a startled "Eep!" when Damon's hand grazed the side of her breast, her body locking up.

"Hey," Damon said softly, drawing her wide eyes to focus on him. "Calm down. I won't do anything you don't want me to."

_That's what I'm afraid of_, Bella thought miserably.

She had thought that cuddling was the one area she had plenty of experience in. After all the times Edward had snuck into her room to be with her, she'd been confident in snuggling. But not once out all of those nights had he held her like Damon was, as if he couldn't get close enough to her.

Often times Bella had ended up pressed to Edward's side with her head on his chest, perhaps an arm around him. If she was lucky, Edward would drape an arm loosely around her shoulders. But there was always a stiffness between them that went beyond Edward's marble skin. He'd lie frozen next to her like a dead fish, never relaxed or at ease with them touching. Like he was afraid of her.

And God forbid she threw a leg over him. She'd tried that once, gently running her foot against his jean clad leg and then wiggling it between his calves only to have him admonish her for her playfulness.

"It's not proper, Bella," he'd said.

She didn't think it was just her blood that had Edward so uncomfortable with holding her intimately. When he'd told her he was a virgin she'd been pleasantly surprised, fully expecting to hear the opposite. He was over a hundred years old and had never even kissed a girl. Repressed didn't even cover it, she thought.

Damon would probably call him a prude, and it was only now that Bella would actually agree with that assessment.

There was something to be said, Bella decided as she relaxed in Damon's arms, for a man with confidence and experience. For a man who embraced his natural urges instead of petulantly ignoring them like a child sticking his fingers in his ears and singing. It was nice, Bella realized, feeling desired for once.

Not that she was at all certain about what was happening between her and Damon. She was confident they were friends – best friends even, if the phrase wasn't so laughable when considering she was talking about Damon. They definitely had a lot in common and because they related to each other on such a personal level it had made trust an easy commodity to foster between them.

While she was uncertain of what that meant, of whether or not Damon was just playing with her to pass the time, Bella had never thought she'd be able trust someone enough to have a true friend again. Not to mention, a male vampire. Damon had a way of slipping into her life and making himself comfortable. It felt as though he'd been there for years, and he made it seem like he had no intention to leave anytime soon.

Time would tell on that, Bella supposed, but she rather hoped he'd stick around even if his flirting was making her all sorts of flustered and confused.

"What time is it?" she changed the subject.

"A little after two in the afternoon," he answered, snuggling deeper into her but minding his hands this time. She was a little disappointed at that.

Bella frowned. "And how long have you been awake exactly?"

She felt Damon's lips curve into a smirk against her. "Awhile."

Thinking it was best to simply let that one go, Bella pulled away from him and this time, Damon let her go but not without an exaggerated pout and a sigh.

"Really?" she laughed. He looked absolutely ridiculous, collapsed against the bed with his arms still stretching half-heartedly out towards her with his lower lip sticking out a bit. She had the sudden urge to bite it and shook her head to banish the thought, unsure f where it'd come from.

Damon smirked at her like he knew exactly what was running through her head.

Blushing, Bella rushed to her bag and headed into the bathroom, calling over her shoulder. "I'm hungry – get dressed and let's go get some food."

She'd just closed the door when she heard Damon respond, sounding suspiciously close to the door she found herself leaning against, "Or we can get undressed and order breakfast in bed, mina... think about it."

Think about it she did, her heart pounding. It was becoming clear that Damon was going to win whatever game he was playing with her. He was more experienced and more relentless in his flirting, especially after after their talk last night. Persistent wasn't quite the right way to describe him after their open conversation... determined was more like it.

She'd be lying if she said it wasn't flattering to be pursued in such a fashion. After months of Edward saying no and letting his rejection seep into her self-image, it made Bella feel almost vindicated to have another pushing her to say yes. As she dressed, she smiled softly. It was nice to have someone show her she was desirable, worth pursuing and fighting for.

Especially a man like Damon who, complicated past and personality aside, was sexy as hell.

"I'm in trouble," she mumbled to herself as she got ready.

On the other side of the door, she could hear Damon laugh.

Deciding to banish those thoughts away for the day, Bella finished dressing and left the bathroom to find Damon leaning against one of the arm chairs waiting for her. He looked casual in dark jeans, a white t-shirt that clung to him and his leather jacket. Very James Dean.

"We match," he smirked.

Bella looked down at her outfit and smiled. She'd donned dark jeans and a white t-shirt as well.

"But I don't have a leather jacket," she pointed out good-naturedly.

Damon gave her a thoughtful look but didn't reply. Instead, he stuck out his hand for her, lacing their fingers together and tugging her out of the room and through the hotel.

The next three hours were spent combing through the restaurants and stores in the Venetian Shops. Damon wasn't quite like Alice, per se, but he glided from designer, high end shops with an ease that clearly stated he was comfortable in the environment. Plenty of times he'd nudge Bella's chin in a reminder to look up when she'd start gazing at the floor when she'd felt criticizing eyes boring into her.

It was like being out with Edward all over again with the way women, and some men, drooled after Damon and then shot her looks that plainly said she was lacking. For once, she felt like the mind reader, their thoughts echoing in her mind.

_What's he doing with someone like her. He's way out of her league. Maybe they're siblings._

But one thing was vastly different. Instead of giving people politely disinterested looks while allowing people to mutter and glare at Bella as Edward had done, Damon pulled no punches. He'd glare back, whisper loud insults on Bella's ear to be overheard on purpose by the offending parties, causing Bella to giggle.

Damon was very smart and creative with the way he insulted people. Often times, he'd call a saleswoman who'd been rude over to help them, throwing out backhanded compliments like, "My girlfriend needs a skirt the exact shade of your eyeshadow. Clown colors are almost chic these days."

Or Bella's favorite, the time a saleswoman wouldn't leave and tried to insert herself into their conversation about dressing to impress. The girl had said something along the lines that Bella was lucky her brother was trying to help her improve her wardrobe and as she smiled coyly up at Damon he'd turned to the girl with a shark-like grin and said, "Mina is hounded all the time by men. You're lucky you don't have to worry about men liking you only for your looks."

The girl had blinked, not getting it until Bella couldn't help herself and erupted into giggles right in front of her. Suddenly realizing she'd been insulted, and to her face no less, the girl had flounced away to lick her wounds.

Old Bella would have felt guilty, but New Bella felt vindicated. If these girls were stupid enough to be so blatantly rude to their customers, then they deserved every ounce of Damon's cutting wit. It wasn't like Damon was attacking them unprovoked, after all. In fact, it almost felt like he was defending her honor every time he came to her defense. It was pretty sweet, in Damon's own way, and Bella couldn't help but feel grateful.

Edward had never once spoken up when people would openly ignore her and flirt with him. He'd been uncomfortable by it, but never took the situation into his own hands to stop it. He'd just accepted it as normal, like it was okay for people to look down on Bella when she was out with him.

But not Damon. He called people out, took them to task for their actions. And he encouraged her to stand up for herself.

"You get the next one," he smirked as they entered another shop. It was so reminiscent of when he'd told her to flirt their way out of the speeding ticket that Bella couldn't help but laugh.

"You're rather confident that the girls will come sniffing around, aren't you?" she laughed.

He shrugged. "They can't help themselves."

But he was proven right almost immediately. As Bella half-heartedly perused a rack of dresses, she heard Damon's voice carry to her from across the store.

"No thanks. If I need a model I'm sure my girlfriend would be happy to. We're here for her, after all."

"But really, I don't mind – in fact, I insist," the woman had giggled, touching Damon's arm flirtatiously.

Not giving her self-doubt a chance to rise up and talk her out of it like it'd almost done with the cop, Bella had strolled over to Damon, removed his arm from under the woman's talons and hooked her arm through his while giving the woman, who was holding up a very skimpy dress, a saccharine smile. "Oh, are you a model? I wish I were flat chested so I could be a model too."

It was ridiculous how proud she felt in that moment. Sure, it was catty, it was mean, but it felt amazing to be the strong one for once. The one who wouldn't allow some snarky woman to get away with acting like Bella was a second class citizen in their presence. Damon had clearly said he was there with her and the woman hadn't cared. It was as if Bella didn't matter, not in this girl's strange, deluded world of self-importance.

So even though could feel a small niggling of guilt blooming, Bella maintained her stare down with the saleswoman and kept her polite, sweet smile in place.

Although Damon immediately ruined her act by laughing. Bella couldn't smother her giggles as he lost it next to her, his body shaking as he overtly laughed in the poor woman's face. Again, the guilt swirled but it did little to taint the sense of victory as the woman stomped off.

"Oh, my little kitten has claws," Damon breathed.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Hey, just because we know we're not together, doesn't mean she knows it. I mean, you told her I was your girlfriend and it was like it didn't matter. Like _I_ didn't matter. I'm tired of feeling that way."

He stopped laughing. "Oh mina, trust me, you matter."

"It happened all the time when I was out with Edward," she said, not sure where the need to confess such a thing came from. But not even she could deny the bitterness in her words as she said, "And he never did anything about it. He never encouraged them, but he never discouraged them either. He made it seem like it was alright for people to treat me like that, like I didn't matter or wasn't even there." She pushed away the memories of her and Edward and glanced at Damon who stared at her silently, letting her vent. "But it wasn't alright, not then and not now."

She shook her head, looking off in the distance, ashamed that she'd turned their fun game into a serious moment.

Damon brought a hand to her cheek, his fingers softly moving a lock of her hair back behind her ear. "Come along, mina, I'll show you how much you matter. Let's go buy you a flashy dress and hit the tables. You'll see how the men won't be able to help themselves with you and I'll act like a proper jealous boyfriend about it."

She smiled, taking his hand in hers. "You know you don't have to buy me things, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful, but I don't want you to feel obligated."

He gave her his patented _don't-be-stupid_ glare and Bella laughed. "Alright. Point taken. Let's go – and remember, you promised to teach me how to play Craps."

He smirked, throwing his arm around her shoulder and leading her out of the store.

"Oh mina, I'll teach you many things, just you wait and see."

His voice was filled with dark promise and Bella shivered under his arm.

* * *

(A/N): I feel like I should say I have nothing against models, lol.

So I hoped you liked the little bit of Damon POV you had – I was real nervous about it, so I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts. It flowed easily enough, but I always feel like Damon can be such a contradiction, both straightforward and hard to read. I probably won't do his POV a lot, but half chapters like this may happen now and again.

Also, hope you enjoyed Bella forming more backbone – it always drove me crazy how she (and Edward) let people disrespect her so openly when they were out together...


	7. High Rollers

(A/N): I know I'm late, but the previous chapter was posted early, so maybe that makes it not so bad? Just a little? This is unedited, so please forgive me, but I'm feeling a little to fuzzy brained to go through it tonight and didn't want to delay posting since I was late enough as it is...

* * *

"_So when I'm crying alone  
Yeah, when I'm cold as a dying stone_

Grow me a garden of roses  
Paint me the colors of sky and rain  
Teach me to speak with their voices  
Show me the way and I'll try again"

**Poets of the Fall - "Roses"**

* * *

_Thirsty for Your Love_

_Chapter 7_

Damon was quick to finish up their shopping spree and Bella was surprised to find herself feeling a bit disappointed when it was over. Shopping with Damon was vastly differently than shopping with Alice, or even Jessica Stanley. For one, he actually let her pick out things she liked. Alice had merely shoved outfits in Bella's face, not asking her opinion and telling her that she'd 'seen' that she'd like them.

But Bella hadn't liked most of what Alice had pushed at her. The clothes were nice, but uncomfortable – comfort being something the vampire girl would have spared little thought for. Wearing them, Bella had felt like a reject model from the Gap.

With Damon, he let her browse the store on her own and would give his opinion honestly on whatever she held out to him. More often than not, he'd voice his opinions in his typical sharp wit, making Bella laugh, but he'd always give valid criticism – _that_ color would wash her out, _this_ cut would make her look shorter. He picked out plenty for her as well, always trying to sneak in some slinky, short dress in, but Bella had been pleasantly surprised by how much she liked his choices overall. It showed how well he already knew her that he could pick out things she may not have chosen for herself, but still suited her taste.

She'd felt guilty that most of what they bought was for her, but when she'd tried to pay the first few times, Damon had given her a highly offended look while stating, "I kidnapped you, remember? Consider this a perk – I need you to develop Stockholm Syndrome, after all. Besides, you'll need these for where we're going. I party in style."

It still didn't feel right letting him drop that kind of money on her, but she could tell arguing would be futile. Besides, with Damon spending money on her, it didn't feel uneven, or like she was taking a handout like it had when she was with the Cullens. It was hard to pinpoint why it was so different with him, but eventually Bella decided it was because Damon bought her things she liked and cared about her input in the process, whereas Alice had been trying to conform Bella to the Cullen image.

That insight, piled with the many others she'd been making, left her uncomfortably depressed. Slowly, she was coming to understand that the family she'd loved and accepted so completely into her life hadn't been nearly as welcoming as she'd thought. Naive. She'd been utterly naive when it came to the Cullens.

When they got back to their room, Damon took a shower while Bella sorted through her new clothes, cutting off the tags. They hadn't bought as much as she'd first feared, but there was a good amount of jeans, tops, and a pair of new, dressy heels she was sure to break her neck in. When she'd voiced as much to Damon about the shoes, he'd only smirked and told her that he'd use his magical healing blood to fix her up.

There was even a couple dresses and a skirt or two in the pile, and Bella rolled her eyes when she came across the leather skirt she'd told Damon not to get.

Figures.

What surprised her the most, though, was the necklace she came across. He must have snuck off at some point and smuggled it in one of their previous bags to keep her from noticing. She wasn't sure what the stone was, but it was definitely a natural stone and was an intense shade of blue that reminded her of Damon's ring.

It was gorgeous and entirely too much. She could tell just by looking at it that it was deceptively simple. It had an understated elegance that Bella knew had to have set Damon back a pretty penny – that is if he hadn't compelled some sort of discount. It probably cost more than most of what they bought, maybe even combined. The bezel it was set in looked antique and there were tiny diamonds all around it, their luster reflecting the inner fire of the blue stone itself. It was elegant yet subtle, something she would have definitely picked out for herself. It was timelessly beautiful.

And it was entirely too much and she wouldn't be keeping it.

The bathroom door opened and clicked closed. Without turning around, Bella said, "Damon, what is this?"

"Looks like a necklace to me."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that, genius, but why – Damon, what the hell?!"

Bella had turned around to find him startling close behind her, wearing nothing but a towel. Flushing red, she quickly looked away, but the vision of his chiseled abs and the tiny droplets of water clinging to his chest was imprinted in her mind.

"What? I forgot a change of clothes," he said innocently.

"Likely story – and don't think I forgot about the necklace. I can't accept it, Damon."

"And why not?"

"Because," she drew out in annoyance.

"Mina," he chided, his tone bidding her look at him.

When she did, her face caught fire. He'd dropped the towel and stood with his back to her, his ass staring at her, completely eye level with her face. "Jesus Christ!" she yelped.

"I know, right? My ass is glorious."

She could literally hear the blood rushing to her face and doubted whether her coloring would ever go back to normal again. It sounded lame even to herself, but she'd never seen a man's naked ass before. Well, there was that one time Renee had taken her to see a Brad Pitt movie in theaters to see him bare his rump, but that hardly counted.

_Brad Pitt has nothing on Damon Salvatore_, she thought and immediately could feel her cheeks getting hotter.

"You're looking a little hot there, mina. Need any help with that?"

He was smirking, definitely smirking. No doubt about it. Even with her eyes screwed shut she could tell.

"Will you please put on some clothes, Damon?" she ground out.

_Or turn around so I can see all of you_, the tiny thought surfaced unbidden.

There was a heavy sigh from Damon and a small rustling of fabric before he said, "Relax mina, I'm decent."

Slowly, she opened an eye to peek at him. He was wearing black pants and his shirt was suspiciously missing.

She quirked a brow pointedly and Damon grinned. "Well, decent enough."

Shaking her head, Bella turned back to the necklace. "I can't accept this, Damon. It's too much."

He scoffed. "What is it with you and gifts? Just wear the damn necklace."

"Damon, you know I'm thankful, but it's too much. The clothes I can kind of get since we'll be going to nice places and I don't want to embarrass you, but jewelry in not a necessity."

"In this case it is," he said.

"What?"

He gave a sigh. "I promised to protect you from everything, didn't I? Trust me and wear the necklace."

Comprehension hit. "What does it do?" she asked tentatively, wondering if he'd gone to a witch somehow. A large part of her mind still scoffed at the concept – witches and spells, _really_?

"Right now it does nothing, but when we get to where we're going I know someone who can set us up. Until then, I want you to get used to wearing it."

"Damon..." she trailed off, well aware that she was starting to sound like a whiny brat. But still, she didn't feel right accepting such a gift. Already she knew it was expensive, but after he took it to his friend and they laid their whammy on it, it'd be priceless. Not that she wasn't thankful, but it was difficult letting him spend that kind of money on her. Her mom and Charlie had never really had the extra money to buy her much, not that she ever complained, and Edward and Alice had often bombarded her with lavish gifts that made her feel awkward or often highlighted how different she was from them.

She supposed she didn't like gifts because they put attention on her, but as she thought about it, she realized the truth. She didn't like receiving gifts because she often felt inadequate next to them. It was like she knew she could never measure up to what she was being given.

Realizing her hang up, she resolved to once again not take her insecurities out on others. Damon was just trying to help and in the process was doing something incredibly nice for her. She may not ever be able to repay the gesture in kind, but at least she could suck it up and accept the gift like a big girl. Bella was smart enough to know that giving gifts wasn't necessarily about repayment in the end, and she needed to stop thinking in those terms.

Besides, Damon doesn't take the word 'no' well and she really needed to pick and choose her battles with him. Would wearing the necklace hurt her? No, absolutely not. It sounded like the opposite, in fact, and if it gave Damon peace of mind, then she'd wear it.

And in return for his kindness, Bella wouldn't complain about it being too much or how she would try to pay him back. Instead, she'd just show Damon how much she appreciated his gesture and valued him and their friendship. Knowing him as she did, she imagined that would mean more to him than anything else she could do.

"Alright Damon," she said softly. "I'll wear. I'm sorry I'm such a pain in the ass."

Victory lit up Damon's features and he came over to her, gently taking the necklace from her hands and sweeping her hair off her shoulder as he put it on her. "But you're such a beautiful pain in the ass, mina, so I forgive you."

She smiled, shivering as his hands dropped to her shoulders after securing the necklace. The stone was a gentle weight against her chest, falling perfectly above her breasts. She reached up and touched it, finding the weight reassuring.

Damon leaned down, his lips brushing her ear. "It looks perfect on you, mina. Now go get ready so I can show you how to party."

Smiling, Bella grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom. Her smile turned into a small grin when she looked at her reflection. Her cheeks were still flushed, but there was a brightness to her eyes that had been gone for months. Softly, she caressed her necklace and her smile grew.

After she declared herself sufficiently primped, Bella left the bathroom wearing an off the shoulder black top and a slightly flared white skirt that ended a few inches above her knees. The new necklace shown like a beacon against her pale skin and Damon grinned when he saw her fiddle with it nervously.

"You look hot. Let's go, mina."

Taking his arm, Damon led her through the hotel and out onto the Vegas strip.

The bright lights of the strip were mesmerizing even in the orange glow of the slowly setting sun. The strip was in full swing and Bella was hypnotized by the various characters she witnessed parading down the street. Some should be arrested for indecent exposure, but so many people just smiled and asked them to pose for a picture. People went around in big groups, loud and obnoxious while drinking margaritas by the yard. There was street music, people handing out cards for call girls, and the traffic was insane. No one paid attention to pedestrian crossing signs and she could hear the echo of car horns and voices shouting every minute.

Controlled chaos was the best way to describe it, although she could tell it was only barely controlled.

"A bit much the first time around, eh?" Damon asked, slinging his arm around her shoulder and steering her away from some unsavory looking people that were about to start a fight.

"It's insane," Bella stated, but she was smiling as she said it.

Damon laughed. "You're loving this."

"It's just fascinating," she murmured, her eyes wide as she glanced at a very well dressed businessman collecting several call girl cards.

"I think there's a party girl buried deep inside you dying to come out and play."

Bella quirked her head in thought. She'd never been that type pf girl, always preferring to stay home and read while others her age went out and partied it up. Not once had she ever felt like she was missing out, but as she watched the various sorts of people laughing and stumbling along the strip, she wondered if maybe she'd been just as repressed as Edward.

It wasn't like she'd felt the need to go out and party with kids her age. But still, she remembered the feeling that'd come over her as they were driving out of town to escape from James and they'd passed the diner as her human friends spilled out, laughing riotously will stumbling against each other. There'd been a slight envy of their carefree happiness and their ability to simply let go of their worries and have fun.

Since Edward had left her, she'd been doing the exact opposite. She'd been clinging to her grief like a security blanket, to the memory of the life she had shared with Edward and his family. Maybe she should have been doing the opposite – letting go. He'd made her promise to stay safe and not do anything foolish, but did she really owe him such loyalty? Should she let Edward control her life even in his absence?

"We should get some drinks," she found herself saying.

Damon laughed, the arm around her pulling her closer to his side. "Now you're talking, mina. Let's get bombed and play some poker."

"And Craps," she reminded.

He rolled his eyes. "I suppose," he drew out grudgingly. The smile he dropped her gave him away though.

Damon steered them to an outside bar in front of Caesar's Palace and ordered them both margaritas by the yard. The bartender gave her an admiring wink causing Bella to self-consciously tug at her skirt. It wasn't that it was too short – it rested a few inches above her thigh – but when coupled with the off the shoulder top and moderate heels she was wearing, Bella was showing more skin than she typically would.

Seeing her flush in embarrassment, Damon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his side, his hard eyes staring down the young bartender who immediately gulped and scurried off to make their drinks.

"You really should get used to that," Damon said, tilting his head down to hers.

"Get used to what?"

He gave her one of his _are-you-__fucking-__kidding-me_ looks before saying, "You're hot. Guys are going to check you out. Don't look down, don't question it – just accept it. It's a compliment."

Bella bit her lip. "I guess I don't really think of myself in that way."

"I know," he said lightly. "That actually makes you hotter. But now that you bring it up, how do you see yourself?"

If it wasn't for the fact that he seemed genuinely interested in her answer, Bella would've rolled her eyes and wrote him off. Instead, she paused and thought on it.

"Well," she began. "I suppose I see myself as average, a little boring."

"Boring?" he asked incredulously. "Mina, I've only known you a couple days and boring is the last way I'd ever describe you."

"I meant in looks," she corrected. "Brown hair, brown eyes – it's kind of boring. Not really exotic or whatever."

_Not nearly as nice as blue eyes_, she thought ruefully.

Damon stepped uncomfortably close behind her, his hands circling her waist. "You are far from boring, especially in looks, mina."

Bella shrugged. "It's not that I think I'm ugly or anything."

"No, but you settle," Damon said.

"What?"

"You settle. Pretty much in every area of your life, you settle. You settle for average because it's safe and comfortable. You settle for ordinary because you're afraid to be extraordinary."

It was easy for her to forget that Damon was more than just a man, that he'd seen and witnessed much throughout the years. Often times he was quick to make snarky jokes and brush off anything serious, but there was a depth to him that she may have taken for granted before.

The bartender arrived then, saving them both from speaking further, but Damon had certainly succeeded in giving her some food for thought. Had she been settling for second best throughout her life? What was perpetually holding her back, making her feel like it was alright to think she was less?

"I know that look," Damon said. "You need to stop thinking and start drinking." He placed her drink in her hand. "Chug a lug, mina."

Staring at the large drink, Bella was a bit intimidated, but steeled herself and took a sip. It was tart but the tequila added a sharp bite that she decided she liked.

"What do you think?"

"I like it, but I think I like the bourbon better. The margarita mix is too artificial."

Damon smirked at her. "You've got good taste."

He took her hand and they continued walking around. Each sip had Bella relaxing further, smiling more and laughing as Damon made snide comments about random people they passed. They stopped and enjoyed the Bellagio fountains. The song was an Italian opera number and Bella shivered when Damon leaned down, his lips caressing her ear as he translated the lyrics for her.

When they'd finished their drinks, Damon got them more and Bella had a happy buzz. There was a group of street musicians close to the Venetian as they made their way back to hit the tables. The music was jazzy and as they stopped to listen, Bella found herself slowly swaying to the beat.

"Come on, mina. Dance with me."

Before she could protest, Damon swung her in his arms, moving them to the beat. A part of her was extremely aware that they were the only ones dancing, that people were watching them, clapping and laughing. But where in the past she would have been embarrassed or even mortified, in that moment, Bella only felt happy. Damon certainly knew how to dance and he maneuvered her expertly, smirking whenever she missed a step, but not allowing her to stop and dwell on it.

It wasn't perfectly choreographed. She stepped on his feet and stumbled several times, but Damon was quick to steady her, swinging her around as if she weighed nothing. When they came to a breathless stop, Bella flushed furiously at the scattered applause, but Damon hammed it up, bowing courteously and making a sweeping gesture to Bella.

Rolling her eyes, Bella accepted his arm once again as he led her to the casino.

"You're a bit of a show-off, aren't you?" she asked, playfully nudging him with her shoulder.

He grinned. "I can't help being this awesome. It comes naturally."

But then he frowned suddenly and stopped walking as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Bella could see the light on the screen as it rang on vibrate.

He stared at the phone for a long moment until the light died and whoever was calling was sent to voicemail.

A second later, the screen lit up again.

"Um, you can take that if you need to," Bella offered. She couldn't tell what he was thinking as he stared at the phone until it went dead again. His defensive walls that he'd brought down a bit as they walked the strip were pulled back up in full force.

He didn't answer for a long moment. Tentatively, she brought her hand up and covered his own as pushed the phone down, moving in front of Damon to catch his eye. There was a hardness in his eyes that she hadn't seen since they'd first met and Bella found herself at a complete loss. All she wanted to do was comfort him, as he'd been doing for her, but she didn't know how to begin.

_What do I do_, she wondered, and then her recent mantra chimed in, _what would Damon do_?

Gently, she pried the phone from his hand and put it in his jacket pocket. "You owe me another drink, big boy," she smiled as she entwined their fingers and squeezed his hand, hoping the gesture conveyed that she was there for him, but would never pry.

They had an intense staring contest. Damon's eyes roved across her face and even though Bella couldn't read him, she knew he could and was, reading her as easily as she read Jane Austen. He gave an abrupt pull on her hand and she stumbled into his chest. His arms came around her, trapping her against him when she would have pulled away.

The moment heated between them and Bella's mouth went dry as she wondered what he was thinking as he blue eyes seemed to darken while drinking her in.

Her racing heartbeat did not go unnoticed. Bella bit her lip when she saw his gaze move to focus on her neck where she could feel her vein hopping as her heart pumped. His eyes flashed to hers again, two arctic pools that had her shivering from anything but coldness.

"You want to drink with me, mina," he murmured in a tone positively dripping with sex.

Maybe it was because she still had a nice buzz going on, but all Bella could think of was a famous line from a book. _C__ome into my parlor said the spider to the fly_.

She was playing with fire, but in her fuzzy haze she let go of her perpetual self-consciousness and admitted, even if only to herself, that sometimes the burn could feel so good.

"Yes," she said breathlessly. "I don't know what's bothering you and you don't have to say if you don't want to, but I hope you know that I'm your friend and I'll always be there for you. You're always taking care of me, let me take care of you for a little bit."

His lips twitched. Without another word he led her in silence the rest of the way to the Venetian casino and Bella couldn't suppress her grin when he brought her straight to the craps tables. He pulled her in front of him and kept his hands on her hips as he leaned down to explain the game while observing the current player.

In the end, it was all gibberish to her. As they watched and Damon explained, she just couldn't stop thinking about his hands on her waist, the small puff of his breath against his ear. She was fairly certain he was doing it on purpose and when she flagged down one of the cocktail waitresses and ordered a bourbon she could feel Damon's chuckle vibrating against her.

Damon decided to play while Bella opted to watch. Still, he wouldn't let her sit it out completely and with his trademark smirk he kept asking her to blow on the die for luck.

"I must not be much luck," she laughed when he rolled a pair of snake eyes and lost.

"You are the best luck, mina, never doubt it," he winked.

Declaring craps to be too complicated and boring, they quickly moved on to a poker table. Damon had a dangerously good poker face and was very apt at reading the other players. He pulled Bella in close and murmured in her ear as he taught her the art of bluffing.

Predictably, Bella was horrible at it when Damon demanded she try, and that was after they determined that the alcohol actually helped her lie better. She was just too honest and too easy to read for the high stakes game.

They decided to hit up another game. Damon refused to let her simply plant herself in front of a slot machine and eventually steered her towards the blackjack tables. It turned out, she was a bit of a savant at that game. A lot of the pressure was off because she wasn't up against the other players at the table but only played against the dealer. It was very much a math and statistical game so she didn't have to worry about bluffing. She certainly wasn't a card counter, but she was an observant player even while under the haze of the alcohol that Damon made sure was never short in supply.

When she shivered, Damon took of his jacket and slipped it over her. He stayed close to her side until he decided to play too. They spent most of the night there and some of Bella's earlier feelings about being a drain on Damon financially were assuaged as she won several respectful pots that she ended up pooling together with Damon's winnings.

As the night went on to early morning, Bella could barely keep herself up straight. Damon finally declared it bed time around five or so, and when Bella slumped against him in the elevator he expertly swept an arm behind her knees and swept her up into his arms.

She sighed when he placed her gently on the soft bed in their room and the last thing she remembered before darkness took her was Damon's hands soothing her feet as he took off her shoes.

* * *

A bright light was burning through her eyelids, piercing through her dreams and pulling Bella back into the land of consciousness far sooner than she should be. Her head was pounding, but thankfully her stomach was pretty settled.

An annoying buzz droned on the nightstand by her and without opening her eyes, Bella stirred out Damon's grip just far enough to slap her hand down on the vibrating object. Groaning lightly, she tried to silent the annoying thing, but it buzzed again in her hand making her headache pound as she suffered through her first hangover.

"Ugh, shut up," she hissed, and without thinking, she answered what she now knew to be a cell phone.

"What? What do you want?" she snapped waspishly.

"Um, hello?" a male voice came through uncertainly.

"Yes, hello, what do you want?"

The guy coughed. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

Bella frowned, her headache getting worse. "You called me buddy, maybe you should tell me who _you_ are."

"My name is Stefan. I'm looking for my brother Damon?" he trailed off in question.

_Oh crap_, she jolted awake in an instant, her hangover receding as awareness dawned and several realizations converged upon her at once.

First, she'd just answered Damon's phone, no doubt accepting a call from the person he'd been avoiding yesterday. He was going to be justifiable pissed.

Second, she was clad only in one of Damon's dress shirts. Damon had obviously changed her and saw her pretty close to naked.

And third, which was more of a question really, Damon had a brother...?


	8. Dreaming Past

**(A/N): **So sorry this is late. I meant to post it a couple days ago, but I ended up tweaking the order of some scenes between this and next chapter, so it took a bit more finagling. I'm still hoping to keep as closely to a weekly schedule as possible, but failing that, I hope not to go beyond two weeks again. To get this up tonight I've decided not to edit, so please be forgiving of any blunders you see. At least I'm pretty sure I caught the big ones!

Thanks again for your patience, and please do let me know your thoughts!

* * *

"_Oh, the things you see  
Makes ignorance bliss for you and me, yeah,  
When arrogance does publicity,  
Smiling happily_

_It's a merry go round and around and around"_

**Poets of the Fall - "Sorry go 'Round"**

* * *

**Thirsty for Your Love**

**Chapter 8**

_A bright light was burning through her eyelids, piercing through her dreams and pulling Bella back into the land of consciousness far sooner than she should be. Her head was pounding, but thankfully her stomach was pretty settled._

_An annoying buzz droned on the nightstand by her and without opening her eyes, Bella stirred out Damon's grip just far enough to slap her hand down on the vibrating object. Groaning lightly, she tried to silent the annoying thing, but it buzzed again in her hand making her headache pound as she suffered through her first hangover._

"_Ugh, shut up," she hissed, and without thinking, she answered what she now knew to be a cell phone._

"_What? What do you want?" she snapped waspishly._

"_Um, hello?" a male voice came through uncertainly._

"_Yes, hello, what do you want?"_

_The guy coughed. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"_

_Bella frowned, her headache getting worse. "You called me buddy, maybe you should tell me who ____you__ are."_

"_My name is Stefan. I'm looking for my brother Damon?" he trailed off in question._

_Oh crap, she jolted awake in an instant, her hangover receding as awareness dawned and several realizations converged upon her at once._

_First, she'd just answered Damon's phone, no doubt accepting a call from the person he'd been avoiding yesterday. He was going to be justifiably pissed._

_Second, she was clad only in one of Damon's dress shirts. Damon had obviously changed her and saw her pretty close to naked._

_And third, which was more of a question really, Damon had a brother...?_

* * *

_Oh God, oh shit, oh no, why did I do this_... her mind was stuttering, unable to focus on any one coherent thought.

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Stupid, stupid Bella!

"Um, miss?"

"Yes," she snapped out of her haze. "Yes, yes I'm here."

"I said I'm looking for my brother Damon," he reiterated, a hint of impatience tinting the words.

"Yes, I heard," she said.

There was a small pause.

"Well?" Stefan asked. "Is he there?"

Bella bit her lip and looked next to her. Damon was out cold, looking far more peaceful than she'd ever seen him. Peaceful, yes, but still far from innocent. He was once again naked from the waist up, but this time he was lying on his stomach and Bella was treated to the expanse view of his muscular back. He had a couple freckles on his shoulder blades, and for some reason that made Bella smile. She'd never imagined someone as tough as Damon could have freckles, but they looked strangely perfect like little ports of call begging for her fingers to trace over.

His arm was still draped across her waist and Bella stared at it, mildly entranced by the way his fingers clutched at her hip even in his deep sleep. Like he never wanted to let her go.

Shaking her head, she pushed away those dangerous thoughts and cleared her throat quietly to answer Stefan. "He's a bit indisposed at the moment."

She heard him huff impatiently and for some strange reason she imagined he was pinching the bridge of his nose much like Edward always had when he was annoyed. "Listen, I've been trying to reach him and it's important that I talk to him."

Her eyes narrowed. She didn't appreciate his tone. It sounded like he was talking to a child, and Bella refused to be condescended to. Not ever again.

"Then I'll tell him you called and he will call you back when it's convenient for him," she said softly, just the barest hint of bite under the words.

"I don't have time to wait. Please, just get him."

"I'm sorry, but he's sleeping and I won't wake him," she insisted, feeling strangely protective of Damon. It was very clear that he'd been avoiding Stefan yesterday. She had no clue as to why, nor did she care. What was between them was exactly that and it was none of her business. All she knew was that Damon didn't want to talk to Stefan, so she certainly wasn't going to force him to.

"Look, I don't know who you are-" Stefan began, but Bella felt her spine stiffen and an uncharacteristic sense of strength gave her the fortitude to cut him off, saying, "No, you don't know who I am. All you need to know is that I'll tell Damon you called and he'll call you back when he's damn good and ready, and not a moment before. Goodbye."

Then she hung up on him.

Staring at the phone in her hand, Bella's pulse thudded painfully from adrenaline. It felt like she'd just run a marathon and it made her a little sad that something as small as speaking up for herself, for Damon, was giving her this feeling of mild shock. She should be able to stand up for herself without feeling like she was on the verge of a panic attack.

The phone came to life in her hand again and she jumped like a skittish kitten, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment even though no one had seen her. Looking down, she saw Stefan's name flash on the screen and she frowned.

"What a jerk," she muttered, still angry at his generally haughty tone, so much like Edward's.

A muffled snort sounded and Bella jumped, looking down at Damon. He was still burrowed into his pillow, eyes closed and looking for all the world like he was peacefully sleeping.

"Turn it off and come back to bed, mina," he said without moving.

All she could do was sit and stare at him, her mind already conjuring up scenarios of him yelling at her and leaving, abandoning her. The phone went silent only to start buzzing again and this time she didn't startle.

He cracked an eye open and fixed her with a mild glare. "Turn it off, Isabella."

Biting her lip nervously, Bella powered off the phone and set it carefully back on the end table.

"Now come back down here."

Slowly, she scooted back under the covers, very conscious of the fact that Damon's shirt was starting to ride up a little around her waist. When she was lying down completely, he pulled her closer into him with the hand that had never left her hip, nuzzling her hair and breathing deeply.

"Now go back to bed," he said.

Resisting the urge to bite her lip again – the poor thing was starting to get swollen with all of the abuse she was putting it through – Bella gave a trembling sigh and tried to will herself to relax. If Damon wasn't going to say anything about her answering the phone, she certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

But her mind was running like a hamster on a wheel. She had a strong urge to apologize to Damon for invading his privacy, albeit accidentally, but she still had an intense sense of guilt for answering his phone. More than guilt, however, Bella was insanely curious.

Damon had a brother.

For some reason, that seemed incredibly odd to her. She wondered if Stefan was his brother in the sense that Edward, Jasper and Emmett had been brothers – not related by blood, but bound by time and commonality. But no, Bella thought. It didn't seem like there was much love lost between the two and she couldn't imagine that they'd willingly call themselves brothers, not with the lengths Damon went to ignore him and not by the obvious annoyance in Stefan's tone when he referenced Damon. Their irritation with each other was reminiscent of many true siblings, something she did not think was born out of a close friendship, but a true familial obligation.

Twisting slightly, Bella remained uncomfortable in Damon's embrace, completely unable to turn off her mind.

What did Stefan want? It was obvious he didn't seem to much like Damon, or maybe it had been Bella he didn't like, but he'd been calling for who knew how long. Was Damon avoiding something back home? He'd told her that they were heading there eventually, but had also said they'd take the scenic route. There was definitely no rush for him to get home to his brother and whatever was waiting for them.

She remembered what he said about everyone having baggage and that pretty soon she'd be forced to face his. Although she'd never pry, she couldn't help but wonder if Stefan was a part of that baggage. What was Damon really leading her into by taking her with him?

Not that it matter, she told herself firmly. Damon was her friend. To be honest, it was hard for her to remember if she'd had a friend like him before, one that was completely true. She'd not had many friends in Phoenix other than her mom and when she moved to Forks her whole life was almost immediately dedicated to Edward and his family. There was Angela, probably the closest thing she'd had to a friend amongst the other students at Forks High, but Bella had kept her at arms length. Many times she'd wished to confide in the girl, but that had been impossible.

Then there'd been Jacob and Alice. Bella had thought they were her friend, but their friendship had not withstood the test of life. They'd given up on her, grown bored, relatively quickly.

But Damon supported her. He made her laugh and have fun even while she was technically on the run for her life. He protected her with a ferocity that made Edward look like a puppy, and Bella decided she would do the same for him. If he wanted to avoid the storm waiting for him at home, then Bella would let him drag her all over the place to kill some time. And she certainly wouldn't give in to Stefan's annoying demands that she get Damon to talk to him. He could just wait.

"Go to sleep, mina," Damon grumbled.

Sighing, Bella said, "I can't sleep now. I'm really sorry about answering your phone, Damon, I didn't mean to-"

Damon put his hand over her mouth. "Too early," he groaned. "Shut up and sleep."

Bella rolled her eyes. It was just past eight in the morning, but she supposed she got his point. They must have been sleeping for an hour or two before Stefan's wake up call.

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

She glared at him. He hadn't even opened his eyes to catch her doing that. He just knew her that well.

"Stop glaring at me. Go to sleep."

Bella pulled his hand down. "Damon, please, I really am sorry."

The huff he gave when he finally opened his eyes was drenched in annoyance. "If you don't shut up and let me sleep I'll give you something to be sorry about, mina."

"I'm being serious, Damon."

He lifted a brow and looked at her pointedly. "So am I."

Frustration welled and without even thinking, Bella smacked him on the shoulder. "Stop it, Damon. I'm trying to apologize here. I won't be able to sleep unless I know you're not mad at me or going to leave me."

Before she could feel guilty for having hit him – not that it hurt him, she conceded – there was a flurry of movement and Damon was suddenly hovering over her, his hands on either side of her head as his body lightly skimmed hers. She was uncomfortably aware of his legs now tangled amongst hers and the soft caress of the silky fabric of his sleep pants against her bare thighs.

"Sheath your claws, kitten," he murmured. His voice was deeper than usual, still gruff from sleep but sounding rich like velvet.

"Damon," she said. But instead of the firm scolding tone she'd meant to use, her voice came out in a warbling whisper that was shockingly seductive.

"Yes mina," his voice was even deeper than before, if possible, causing Bella to shiver.

Being so close he easily noticed her reaction and Damon smirked.

Wanting to give as good as she got, Bella asked in a slightly steadier tone, "Where's the rest of my pajamas? Couldn't you find me any pants?"

A slow smiled curled Damon's lips and he said, "I'm wearing them, mina. I thought you'd be uncomfortable if I slept nude. You're welcome."

She was beyond mortified when a not-so-small part of her mind cried out at not being able to see his ass again, because the smug bastard was right, it was a glorious ass. Still, an equally large part pointed out how it was strangely sweet – and sensual – that she was wearing the top that matched his bottoms right now. It was beyond intimate for someone like Bella who had only ever kissed before, but it also felt sort of romantic.

"You're – you're not mad at me, are you?" she asked, bringing them back to the original focus of their conversation to distract herself from dangerous thoughts.

Damon tsk'd lightly, dipping his head down to breathe into her ear, "Do I look mad, mina?"

_You look sexy_, she thought, but remained quiet.

Running his nose along her neck, Bella could hear him inhaling deeply, enjoying whatever it was he smelled there.

"So," he muttered. "You won't be able to sleep without knowing whether or not I'm mad at you, mina? You think I would leave you?"

Bella held herself completely still, afraid that if she moved it would be to press herself into Damon's lithe body. She wasn't really certain what he was trying to accomplish here, but she found herself not even remotely caring. After months of shutting people out, and months before that of being held at arms length by someone who professed to love her, Bella found it almost liberating to experience this sort of closeness.

"I – I just need-"

"I know what you need," he cut her off, breathing the words against her neck, each one dripping with innuendo.

Bella shivered again.

Pulling up to look down at her, Damon pinned her with a serious expression. "You need reassurance," he said abruptly, the deep seductive tone pulling back some as he spoke. "Because you've never had it properly before."

She blinked up at him owlishly. Once again, Damon had dropped another deep insight into a seemingly playful and innocent conversation that was designed to make her reflect on her past and realize something she probably should've already known.

And once again, he was right.

From her parents, to her meager friends, and most certainly including the Cullens, no one had ever really tried to reassure her before. There'd been classic platitudes from her parents, staples that every child heard like 'everything will be alright' and 'don't worry, there is no monster in the closet.' But Renee had the flighty personality of a hummingbird and was unable to focus long enough to truly get to the root of Bella's problems in order to assuage her fears, and Charlie, well, the man was simply incapable of expressing his emotions.

As much as she'd thought of Alice as her best friend at one time, they'd never really had a substantial conversation. All Alice talked about was makeovers, clothes, and other such nonsense that had Bella zoning out for most of their talks.

At first thought, she would have given Edward the benefit of the doubt here, but that was hard to do when considering all he ever seemed to do once they got together (and before then as well) was find reasons on why he should leave. He'd warned her off constantly, even when she woke up in the hospital after being attacked by James. All she'd needed from him at that moment was his support, his comfort. She needed to hear that he loved her and would be with her. Instead, he'd almost immediately started talking about how he was no good for her, how she needed to leave him.

It was a hard pill for Bella to swallow, but the truth was, Edward Cullen had not abandoned her in the woods a couple months ago. He had actually left her, little by little, the day he professed his love for her. Whether it was because he was uncertain of his affections for her or simply not confident in expressing and accepting their love, Edward had decided at the start of their relationship that they were doomed. And like any other self-fulfilling prophecy, he'd made sure they were doomed at every point.

"I," she began, only to stop as her throat tightened with the tears she valiantly fought against.

"Sh-h, mina," Damon whispered, bringing a hand down to cup her cheek, his thumb light sweeping the corner of her eye where a rebellious tear trailed. "In time you'll understand."

_Understand what_, she wanted to ask, but all she could say was, "I shouldn't have answered your phone."

He smiled slightly. "No, you shouldn't have. I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

There was something to be said, she thought once again, about a self-confident man. If she'd purposely set out to find someone the complete opposite of Edward, she didn't think she could have done any better than Damon Salvatore. There was much he kept to himself, much she still didn't know about the dark haired vampire, but in this instance the devil was not in the details. Certainly she was curious about his past, his brother, and the events that made him who he was, but Bella was already enthralled by the man. She didn't put much stock into who he'd been in the past, except in the terms that it had made him who he was today.

"I'm tired," she said suddenly. It was true. Damon made her have revelations that exhausted her.

There was another abrupt movement on Damon's part and their positions nearly reversed. He was now lying on his back, an arm behind his head, and Bella had naturally fallen into the crook between his shoulder and arm to use as a pillow. He kept one arm around her, pressing her into his side. Despite the many questions she still had, Bella found herself sighing into him, her arm snaking around his waist as she clung to him like he was her teddy bear.

"Sleep now, mina. We'll talk later."

His voice came from far away and she was asleep before she could answer.

* * *

_Everything was how she remembered. The cold sting of the air biting at the tears staining her cheeks, the deceptively peaceful nature of the clearing, and the icy, distant look on his face as Edward stood across from her, telling her he was leaving._

"_Bella, I don't want you to come with me."_

_How his words had haunted her. He spoke them slowly, each syllable deliberately enunciated to leave no doubt that he meant each one._

_Frowning, Bella waited for the searing pain to hit, for the hole in her chest to gasp and tear her asunder, just as it always did when she heard those words. Instead, however, she was oddly detached as she stood in her nightmare looking at Edward, feeling as though she was looking at a stranger._

I'm dreaming_, she suddenly thought. _This is just a dream. Another nightmare he'd left me to bear alone_._

"_You're not good for me, Bella."_

_What had once nearly crippled her with pain now only made her feel uncertain. She wasn't unaffected by the words dream Edward was saying, but beneath them she heard the tenor of her recent revelations and knew that it was him who hadn't been good for her._

"_It will be as if I'd never existed."_

_Despite her new found strength in facing her nightmare, Bella stumbled back at that one. There was a war within her, tearing her apart with the words that Edward dropped like casual bits of thunder and the words she'd never had a chance to say that seemed only barely restrained from bursting at him accusingly._

"_I'm not worth it," she muttered. It was exactly what he'd made her believe. As often as this memory haunted her, not once had she ever spoken back to Edward. It had always been night after night of Bella absorbing his words, each one a fatal blow to her self-esteem leaving invisible bruises that would never fade._

_Dream Edward stood unaffected and the fact that he was unmoved by her was beyond infuriating. Didn't she deserve to have a say, to be heard? In reality, he had railroaded her in this moment, completely bulldozed over her feelings, self-esteem, and her dignity as it they were nothing._

_When she would have otherwise collapsed, useless in her ability to articulate her anger and stand up for herself, Bella abruptly felt support and strength. Two invisible arms wrapped around her from behind and a very familiar voice seemed to drift to her on the breeze._

_You are worth, mina. You're worth it._

_It was exactly the type of reassurance she needed, the kind she craved._

"_I am worth it," she repeated, letting each word simmer on her tongue as she tried to reinforce them with certainty. "I am worth it."_

_Dream Edward frowned and took a step back._

_Bella followed his retreat, the invisible arms nudging her encouragingly. "I am worth fighting for and if you had ever truly loved me, you would know that."_

_She felt hands rubbing her shoulders and she leaned into them, relishing the silent comfort._

"_I am worth it," she said again, but this time it was to herself, a soothing balm she placed over the sting of Edward's words. _

_Her anger turned inwards abruptly as shame filled her. She'd let Edward convince her she wasn't good. His words and actions meant so much to her that they overrode her own self-esteem and shaped her life. _

_She'd been foolish, she realized, to have lost herself __simply because a man didn't want her. To have put so much trust in him that she followed blindly, believed wholeheartedly that she was worthless only because he no longer wanted to be with her._

_It will be as if I'd never existed, he'd told her._

_And in that moment of fury and self-indignation, with the support of her invisible arms, all Bella could think was _good_. She wasn't naïve enough to believe his vow, but for the first time, Bella wanted to make his last promise true by the force of her conviction._

_Good. She would pretend Edward never existed, then, if that's what he wanted. _

_Slowly the scene faded and the dream turned into a more recent memory of drinking, dancing, and laughter._

_A smile curled her lips as Edward faded away and she sighed as she felt the arms circle her tighter._

"_Damon..."_

_Lips ghosted along her collarbone and Bella smiled._

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(A/N): A smidgen shorter than the other chapters, but at least the wait is over! Much excitement to be had, so stay tuned and please review to let me know what you're thinking! I'm hoping to post a little early to make up for the delay with this chapter, so fingers crossed!


	9. Fall for You

(A/N): So better late than never, right? Not to make excuses, but after stressing over throwing my daughter's second birthday party delaying my post, my daughter caught a cold from someone at said birthday party which she then shared with my husband and me. And being sick while nearly 5 months pregnant and while taking care of a sick toddler is... not easy. I apologize this is so late, but I really needed to take a couple extra weeks to recuperate.

A couple of you have sent me PM's... thank you for your kind words! I'm sorry if I did not get back to you this time, but I figured you'd be alright with me putting my focus on getting this chapter up instead :-) **To answer the main question I've received:** I do not have a posting schedule. I try to post every 1-2 weeks, but as you can see, life happens and I can't guarantee that. All I can promise is that I won't stop writing this story. If there's going to be a delay, I usually post an update or even a teaser on my blog to hold you over, so please find the link to my wordpress on my profile.

Happy reading! Please forgive silly mistakes as this is unedited!

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"_Cos it seems to matter where I go, I will always let you know  
That the place where I am is never far  
You know, you're not alone, don't be alarmed  
I'll find you no matter where you are_

So please remember that I'm gonna follow through all the way

Oh my love, if it's all I can do, I'll take the fall 4 U  
Cos I will soar when I lay down with you and give my all 4 U"

**Poets of the Fall – All the Way / 4 U**

* * *

**Thirsty for You Love**

**Chapter 9**

The days that followed were blissfully uneventful – no calls from weird, annoying brothers. Their nights were filled with parties, drinking and dancing. Each night, or rather early morning, Bella fell exhausted into bed, too tired to change her clothes, and each afternoon she woke in Damon's arms wearing his nightshirt. Invariably, it was always the companion piece to the pants he so thoughtfully donned.

Damon didn't just take her to bars and clubs, though. He also let her do the real touristy bits that come with Las Vegas. They walked the shops in various hotels, saw a couple shows – Bella particularly enjoyed the Blue Man Group even though Damon got them third row seats and they were covered with paint by the end. Cirque De Sole was also interesting, but Damon kept making quips about flexibility and its usefulness in the bedroom which caused Bella to spend most of the night blushing as her imagination got the better of her.

Surprisingly, her favorite night was when he took her to the Stratosphere. It was on older hotel on the north end of the strip and looked like the Seattle Space Needle. They played at a couple tables, had a few drinks, and when Damon declared her ready he brought her to the top of the hotel where a series of extreme rides resided.

"Um, no," she said definitively, backing away.

Damon smirked. "Oh yes, mina. Time to put on your big girl panties."

And because Damon tended to always get what he wanted, they went on the rides.

Feeling generous, Damon let her choose the first ride and Bella led them over to one called Insanity, thinking she was indeed insane for going on extreme rides hundreds of feet in the air. This looked like one of the tamer attractions. It was a modified ride similar to the swings she used to go on at state fairs or carnivals, only the motion spun them out and over the edge of the roof.

Truly, she should have known she'd end up loving it.

The adrenaline rush, that feeling of freedom she'd been chasing for a while now, both collided within her and though her heart was thumping painfully the entire ride, Bella couldn't wipe the smile from her face.

Afterwards, Bella grabbed Damon's hand and led him to another ride, her cheeks flush with life and laughter as Damon rolled his eyes at her excitement while allowing her to tug him wherever she wanted.

They went on a large teeter-totter like ride next and Bella reflexively clutched Damon's arm when their end would rise up in the air. After they'd reach the high point and start to descend, the downwards momentum had her lifting briefly out of her seat and shrieking in fear tinted excitement. Next, they went on a ride that shot them up into the air and then back down. Again, Bella kept a tight grip on Damon's hand and her fear mellowed dramatically when she felt his fingers curl around hers in a firm squeeze.

She was like a kid again. Up in the air there was no room or time for worrying about life. Even Damon laughed more readily, his eyes looking brighter than Bella had ever seen. He was uncommonly indulgent with her, letting her pull him to whatever ride she desired, going on them over and over again with her. She knew these might as well be children's rides for someone like him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Bella minded, however, when he dragged her to the one attraction she'd purposefully been avoiding. The SkyJump attraction was essentially bungee jumping off the edge of the hotel and down to the strip, and Bella thought Damon was crazy if he thought she was going to trust her life to some rubber band.

"It's not that different from the other rides, mina," Damon argued.

"Not that different?" she asked with a wide-eyed look that clearly said she thought he was insane. "I'm not jumping off the edge of a building, Damon!"

"Why not?"

"What do you mean 'why not?' - I choose life, Damon."

He snorted. "Don't be so dramatic. I won't let anything happen to you."

Now she huffed at him. "You won't be able to stop it, it's not like we can jump together. What happens if the rope snaps and I plummet to my death, huh?"

"Simple. I go first and if by some weird happenstance the band does snap when you go, I'll fly on up and catch you. You may still die when we land, but I'll give you some of my blood, find a nice tasty human for you to feed on, and then you'll join the undead club. It's great, we have a theme song and everything," he ended dryly, batting his lashes.

She argued futilely with him for fifteen more minutes, but in the end she wasn't surprised when they were both lined up and getting ready for their turn to jump. The technician hooked Damon up and right before he leapt, he turned to her with a wink and puckered his lips to blow her a kiss, saying, "I'll be waiting, kitten."

And with a shout of triumph, he threw himself off the ledge.

God, her heart was racing for him in an odd mixture of concern and fondness. But she needn't have worried. It wasn't long before his safe landing was confirmed and they were hooking her up and running through last minute procedures.

She nodded absently, not hearing a word, but feeling comforted by the small movement. The tech seemed to understand her fear and kindly offered some hollow words of encouragement while letting her take her time before leaping.

Bella toed the ledge for a minute feeling half insane for attempting this. It was something she never would have done before, definitely something Edward would have disapproved of. At that last thought, Bella gritted her teeth and with a deep breath she pictured Damon telling her she could do this.

The memory hovered in her mind for a moment and the instant she started to believe him, she leapt.

Falling took seconds but it may as well have been an eternity. It was an oddly quiet affair, her shouts aside, with the wind rushing in her hair and ears. Her stomach felt like it was still on the roof, but part way through Bella managed to open her eyes and briefly take in the glimmering lights of Las Vegas in the evening twilight. It was breathtaking.

She became aware of two sides of herself warring in that moment – a wary, fearful side that berated the fact that she'd leapt, and a more adventurous side crowing in exultation, in victory.

Even when she'd landed the sensation of falling lingered within her. She was nearly in a state of shock that she'd jumped and landed safely that she didn't even acknowledge the crew unhooking her and moving her over to finish disrobing the safety equipment.

_I just jumped off a building and fell 800 some__-__odd feet to the ground_, she told herself, but still didn't quite believe it.

Nonetheless, she'd done it. Against the voices in her head telling her she couldn't or that she shouldn't, she'd leapt into the unknown. A slow smile curled her lips and a sense of accomplishment rushed through her as she thought about the past week spent with Damon.

Those first couple days aside, they'd quickly found an easy routine with each other. Although, that wasn't to say their more recent nights were without trouble. If Bella was a danger magnet, then Damon was surely a trouble magnet. Granted, he was what usually caused the trouble, so maybe he wasn't a magnet so much as an instigator.

He'd taken her off the strip the other night to a rundown bar for fun. She'd been scared at first, seeing some big burly biker men, but Damon had smirked and led her in without so much as a glance at any of the intimidating guys. But not much, if anything, scared Damon Salvatore – certainly not mere humans.

It had only mildly surprised her when Damon started a bar fight. A large, balding man had palmed her ass and she'd slapped him reflexively. The man had taken exception to that and went to backhand her. Bella opened her mouth to call out for Damon, but there was a sudden thud followed by the tinkling of glass shattering and hitting the ground. The man collapsed to the floor with a comical cross-eyed expression and Bella was finally able to see Damon who'd been standing behind him. He wore his usual smirk and there was an eagerness lit in his eyes that reminded her of a child on Christmas morning.

In his hand, he spun around the broken bottle of bourbon used to knock out her assailant. "Now the fun really starts, mina."

She'd been confused for half a second until Damon was jumped from behind by two men, friends of the poor schmuck on the floor, Bella presumed. At first she'd been worried about him, especially when everyone else seemed to join the fight, but she was soon reminded that Damon was a vampire and had fought far stronger and worse in his years. Then she quickly became concerned for the humans, but Damon seemed content toying with them and not killing them. He was like a large cat batting at harmless mice he'd already caught. Sure, there was no doubt that he was inflicting some serious pain, but it was obvious from the start that he wasn't using his full strength. It was a game to him.

A couple elbows and bottles came her way so going against the tiny voice that told her this was wrong and that she should stop them, Bella found a quiet corner and watched the brawl. The thudding sound of flesh against flesh made her wince, but she was surprised to find herself becoming bored, of all things. She'd changed much in Damon's company already, she recognized.

Sighing, she said in her normal speaking tone, "Are you done yet, big boy?"

Nearly instantly Damon appeared at her side.

"Nothing like a bar fight to get your blood pumping, mina. Makes you feel alive."

Despite the tinge of disapproval she felt, Bella couldn't help but smile slightly as she rolled her eyes at him. "That's rich coming from you, Mr. Vampire."

He chuckled darkly before his hand suddenly shot out and caught part of a broken beer bottle that would've embedded itself in her eye otherwise.

Lifting a brow, he chuckled again. "I believe my work here is done. Let's bail before the fuzz arrives."

He'd taken her out the back, laughing the whole drive back to the casino.

There'd been several other similar instances, and though there was still a part of Bella stuck in her old mindset that disapproved of what they were doing, she had to admit that even though he was immortal, Damon tended to live each day as his last, which she found to be very admirable. It also didn't hurt that she was having more fun than she'd ever had in her entire life.

It was with that thought that Bella finally caught sight of Damon waiting for her. He was leaning casually against a wall, one foot propped against it and his eyes focused entirely on her. His gaze was intense and there was a strong emotion simmering there that she couldn't name.

Her smile, which had never fallen as she'd lost herself in thought, widened. Without thinking, Bella jogged over to him and threw herself at him. He caught her, one hand cupping her ass when she wrapped her legs around his waist, and the other diving into her hair.

"I did it," she breathed into his ear, hugging him tightly as the adrenaline still rushed through her veins. "Did you see? I did it!"

Damon inhaled deeply, his nose buried in her hair. "I saw, mina. I knew you could."

She pulled back to smile at him again, only to freeze at his expression. His eyes were heavy lidded and looked darker than their usual shade of ice blue. There was small crease on his forehead and without thinking, Bella reached out and smoothed it softly with her fingertips.

In response, Damon's hold on her tightened. She was hyper aware of each of his fingers as they gripped her, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

Her lips felt dry and when she opened them to inhale she took in Damon's scent – the smell of his leather jacket, the musky sandalwood of his bath products, and a lingering spice that she couldn't name. She tried to say something, but stalled, unsure of what she wanted to say.

Suddenly, Bella felt drunk by his mere proximity. Her arms were heavy around him and when her eyes met his she gasped at the intensity there.

Before she knew it, Damon had surged forward, his lips claiming hers. Instinct took over and her legs tightened around him, one hand fisting his jacket as the other became lost in his hair. His hand that had been holding her up started moving, caressing her as much as possessing her as he pulled her into him. The faint taste of bourbon made her lips tingle and when his tongue met hers she was drunk in a way she'd never been before.

There was nothing polite about their kiss. It was fierce and it left no doubt that Damon knew what he was doing. Slowly, voices from others walking the strip began to penetrate their little bubble and the awareness that Damon was essentially fucking her mouth with his tongue while anyone could see made her movements go from instinctual to uncertain, self-conscious.

Damon read her perfectly. Instantly, he became softer but no less intense. Possessiveness underlaid his every touch even as he slowed them down, soothing where he was once gripping. He became gentle with her in a way that was shockingly more open than the fierce, dominate way he'd been kissing her. With ease, he slowed them down until he pulled away completely. He had a pensive air about him as he looked down at her with his head quirked to the side.

In true Bella form, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Um... hi."

Damon's lips twitched. "Hello."

Suddenly she was very aware of the fact that she was still wrapped around Damon like she was a baby koala. She shifted against him awkwardly.

Leering at her, Damon smirked and with one last squeeze to her ass, he lowered her to her feet, making sure her body slid along every inch of his.

Her heart was worse than a jackhammer. She'd _never_ been kissed like that before – hell, she's never kissed someone like that before. As fiery as it was, there was a sense of vulnerability around both of them now. A horrible awkwardness that Bella had slowly shed around him after their nights of laughter and dancing.

Damon had brought her out of her shell over the past week, with a little help from his friends Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels. He'd never shied away from her and seemed to always be touching her – snuggling her in the mornings, holding her tight against him as they danced, and even twirling strands of her hair when they didn't feel the need to talk and sat in easy silence.

Abruptly, she realized that they were acting very much like the newlywed couple Damon had told the concierge they were. In fact, for someone who she'd identified as a man-whore and a shameless flirt right off the bat, Damon had been surprisingly underwhelmed by the cocktail waitresses constantly vying for his attention. She'd thought those girls to be silly before and their simpering funny, but now when she thought of them with Damon, there was an odd tightening in her chest.

"Hey," Damon spoke softly, drawing her out of her thoughts.

She bit her lip and looked up at him, unknowingly leaning further into him until his arms twisted around her, forcing her into his chest.

"Don't over-think it, mina, you might pop a blood vessel of something."

Despite her anxiety, she smiled. She'd read into the moment later and for now she'd take solace in the fact that she new Damon pretty well now and he wouldn't let her get too awkward. It wasn't a pity kiss or anything else her mind will try to conjure up later – Damon kissed her because he wanted to, simple as that.

And she'd returned his kiss because she wanted to. There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, there was everything right with it. It was the sexiest moment of her life and where Edward's chaste kisses had once left her desperate for more, Damon's passionate display had her hungry for more knowing that he'd never hold back.

Taking a deep breath, Bella gave him a soft smile. "Drinks?" she offered, completely content with underplaying the whole event.

He grinned. "I've taught you well, grasshopper."

Slinging his arm around her shoulder, they walked back down the strip towards Caesar's Palace, Damon humoring Bella's excited retelling of her famous bungee jump.

As Damon steered them into the familiar setting of a club they'd frequented before and ordered them some drinks, Bella suddenly recalled his words of comfort before the jump.

"Damon?" she asked thoughtfully once the waitress set their drinks down and left their table.

"Hm-m?" he sounded distracted as he scanned the club, making notes about people and exits.

"What did you mean before when you were convincing me to jump – about the _flying_ up to catch me?"

A slow, wicked smile curled his lips as he turned his attention to her. "What did you think I meant?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure – that's why I'm asking," she drew out pointedly.

His grin widened. "I meant exactly what I said, mina."

"But – you can't _fly_... can you?"

He said nothing but continued to grin.

"No. No way. You're lying."

The grin widened.

"I don't believe you," she insisted. "I'm not that gullible, Damon. I know you can't fly – there's no way."

"Well," he drawled, looking mighty pleased with himself as he graciously allowed, "I can't fly as you see me now."

She frowned at him, taking a swig of her drink and feeling comforted by the burn of alcohol. "And just what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," he rolled his eyes at her. "That I can't fly in this form, but I can in my other."

Shaking her head, Bella shot him a glare. "It's like pulling teeth with you, isn't it? Well Mr. Riddler, how's about you spell it out and stop dancing around the answer, please and thank you."

Damon laughed. "You're feeling spunky tonight, aren't you?" He scooted closer to her in the booth, his arms sliding around her shoulder as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I like it when you're feisty, mina. Makes for all sorts of fun possibilities."

His lips found her earlobe and gave her a playful nibble. A shudder danced down her spine and subconsciously she shifted closer to him, the right side of her body ending up flushed with his.

"Damon?" she breathed, unsure what she was asking him for.

He pulled back and stared down at her. His ever-present smirk was there, but softer than usual, and his brilliant blue eyes were more open than she'd ever seen.

Her tongue was heavy in her mouth and she didn't know what to say.

Taking pity on her, Damon announced, "I can turn into a crow," as casually as if he was commenting on the weather.

"W-what?"

His smile turned indulgent. "For some of my kind, those with great power and control, it is possible to adapt the form of a familiar."

"Um, what?"

He snorted. "Now I know you haven't drunk that much yet, mina, unless it's just me you're drunk on."

The latter was probably true, but she refused to admit it. "You can turn into a crow," she said slowly.

"And manipulate the weather," he stated nonchalantly. "Among other things."

"Um..." Bella looked to her drink, picking it up and quickly slamming it back. "I need another drink."

Damon laughed, signaling for a nearby waitress. "Oh kitten, you have no idea what you've got yourself involved in, do you?"

Ho sounded vaguely condescending, but Bella resolved not to raise to the bait until she had another drink.

What followed for most of the evening was the most enlightening conversation about vampires, Cold Ones, witches, and other supernatural creatures. Bella was thirsty for more information, and Damon appeared very willing to give her answers.

As they talked, they drank and Damon made snippy quips about why his kind of vampire was the best – naturally because of him – and enlightened Bella on a whole new world. There were times she couldn't help but wonder how much of this Edward had known and had knowingly kept from her. She felt equally indignant and ignorant.

But Damon was very forthcoming. Their conversation was largely informative and not too personal. He gave her facts in his usual colorful commentary, but also impressed upon her a certain awareness of just how small humans were in the world.

"Good thing you got yourself a vampire bodyguard," he winked when she expressed how dangerous it all sounded.

When Damon grew bored of their school session, as he called it, he ordered them two rounds of shots and announced that it would probably be their last night in Vegas since they'd lingered too long and didn't want to give Victoria a chance to catch up so soon.

"I want to draw this game out with the bitch," he smirked and it looked harder than what she'd seen from him recently. "It's always fun to play with them before the kill."

Bella remembered how he'd torn off Laurent's arm and had waved at the dying vampire with it. She could easily see him playing with Victoria.

Those thoughts were quickly dispelled as they lost themselves in a fog of alcohol, dancing, and even more alcohol. It would be their night to end all nights in their week long Vegas party. It ended in a blur and Bella could barely tell up from down by the end of things, much less remember anything past her fourth shot.

When Damon carried her to the room, Bella smiled as she felt him undressing her, taking care of her when she couldn't do it herself. There was nothing but a haze of images from their night and when she sunk even deeper into a blissful sleep, she dreamt of a room with golden wallpaper and a giant chandelier, but the image swirled away until all she saw was Damon smiling the most genuine smile she'd ever seen on him as he leaned down to kiss her, his lips feather light against hers.

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(A/N): A little mysterious at the end there, no? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks again for your patience and reviews – if you can, please take the time to let me know what you thought of their big kiss! Oh, and some of you may have skipped the long a/n at the top, so please read it now if you still have questions on my updating schedule :-)


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